We've liveblogged the Warlords Q&A with Lead Game Designer Ion “Watcher” Hazzikostas!

Q) Do you plan on adding any new Realm First titles like Conqueror of Naxxramas, etc?

A) Honestly no - not ideal if someone wasn't there, had to sit, etc. In reality it's a guild achievement. We still have prestigious raid titles currently available. These titles retain prestige in the moment i.e. Empire's Twilight.

Q) How much does Gear Itemization actually effect a group's ability to progress through content?

A) Gear effects it tremendously. You can see your power level rise as weeks go by and suddenly Beserk-counter kills are easier. Stats probably aren't effecting a group's abilities as a whole, but they do affect the relative balance of a spec. Looking to smooth this out per spec. For group as a whole, it averages out.

Q) When's the next troll dungeon? Zul'Farrak as next 100 Heroic?

A) Spoiler: NO troll dungeon next patch. No trolls in Draenor.

Q) Any thought on making raids require more tanks? It's hard to find a raid spot as a fresh level capped tank.

A) Sticking to 3 - want to avoid the opposite problem of not having enough tanks if 3-4 were always required. Keeping an eye on population representation but in general tanks have a lot of control in finding groups and making their own groups. Generally the oversupply is DPS. Having trouble finding your own group? Make your own, as a tank.

Q) Do you feel that BRF normal/heroic is overtuned for small raids?

A) No, but we're keeping an eye on it and we've fixed things so far (I.e. Gruul). It's important to us that it not get more difficult with changing numbers (i.e. Siege Flex Magic 14 Number). At the same time, it's important that encounters remain accessible.

Q) Any new plans for Inn quests?

A) Nothing specific but we are always looking to update new Garrison content in future patches.

Q) My alts are 630 without stepping into dungeons. What purpose do Heroics serve?

A) This is a struggle and has room for improvement, although this is probably not that different from past expansions. Timeless Isle, for example, removed any reason to step into dungeons. VP and JP wasn't a very satisfying use of dungeons either. Rather people focus on appropriately difficult content. Trying to carve out CMs as a niche for meaningful 5-person gear progression.

Q) How does the team feel about the tuning about the now-3 different difficulties? Anything easier or harder than intended?

A) Pretty smooth, actually. We're happy. Also happy with guilds have been moving on from one difficulty to the next. People were worried about TOC-like burn out, but people stopped doing Normal BRF (for example) if they had done lots of Mythic HM. Flexibility and Options are good, but it's also good they don't feel obligated to do all the difficulties each week.

Q) Why are there so many changes to challenge modes this season/expansion?

A) Everybloom and Skyreach were changed in 6.1. Those are bugs and we have a lot of bugs that get fixed every patch, with a large variance. They get fixed routinely. Normally, these things get caught and fixed and there wasn't enough visibility to let them know not to fix it. Yes, the landscape has changed and we are evaluating what to do. Another client patch would be needed for removing the new collisions and this change would be a bit awkward. Looking for solutions. One option is roll back change, one option is reduce threshold for gold, one is re-wipe the challenge mode leaderboards for those dungeons (More likely).

Q) Why no CM teleports this season?

A) Those still exist, and are still useful. Look for them in a different fly-out in your spellbook! "Warlords Path" if you've done golds.

Q) What tank performance and representation trends have you noticed in BRF? Opinions?

A) Stable at normal/heroic levels. Goal there is roughly ballpark balance with tanks. High end (which means rerolling/alts) with shield tanks (Pallies) high up in Highmaul because of DPS. Now, we're seeing Brewmasters popular in BRF. Not really about class mechanics but how they interact with BRF mechanics. Staggerable spike damage, for example tend to give monks an advantage. We are seeing representation and success from a wide variety of specs, though.

Q) Are you OK with the prevalence of 3 tanking some encounters in 20-man Mythic?

A) Not sure about "prevalent" maybe occasional? And yes we have 2-3 encounters that are strongly encouraged for Mythic. This is a reasonable expectation for Mythic guilds. Sometimes it's designed that way, sometimes we're just okay with that happening.

Q) What was your thought process with removing re-coloured tier in LFR and will it return?

A) Visual representation for prestige and for encouraging doing rewarded content. This has always been a thing in WoW. We want people to look around town and know what the tiers come from - less confusion and which ones mean they have done the challenging content. We wanted to create some division there - and now we have LFR-specific sets. We will be continuing this art direction. Group finder makes doing normal easier than ever so take that step to get that look if you want it.

Q) All 2-handers are on Tier or End bosses? Why?

A) Weapons have to go somewhere. There are valid complaints about only 1 weapon on hardest bosses but weapons being on tier bosses doesn't indicate this - Flamebender, for example, is an accessible tier/weapon boss.

Q) Why is LFR easier than a heroic dungeon but gives better loot?

A) Crucial factor here is the weekly lockout, unlike heroics. LFR is experiencing content for someone without time or inclination for grouping. Let them see the story, but also want them to get meaningful rewards for doing it. Marry progression and story. If LFR gave worse loot, there would be lower participation than we'd like. Would harm the overall experience. Heroic is baseline gear quality, and things need to be better than that if LFR is going to be attractive at all.

Q) When designing raid bosses, do you start with Mythic and remove abilities or vice versa?

A) Generally start with Heroic, test internally, tune and polish. Then think about that base experience and add for Mythic, as well as pare down for Normal . We don't remove abilities but we may consider that in the future. Sometimes they design a Heroic fight and realize they accidentally designed a Mythic fight. Reality is, they always get tuned but too many mechanics means diluting those numbers. One of the worst situations in an encounter is "Mechanic Soup" where you only care about 1-2 of the mechanics that are actually punishing.

Q) How can you balance encounters in a world where specs have niches? Hard to actually balance things out.

A) The goal is diversity, not that everyone should be equal. This might be attainable but it's boring and would require lots of removing abilities. We'd rather get to a point where some specs do better on some fights, so some specs can shine. Combat rogues on Thogar, Balance Druids on Kromog. I think it DOES average out. 90% + of guilds have a roster, not funneled alts or massive benches or class stacking. Goal is on average in an entire raid zone, different specs are viable across the encounters. Does this mean Mythic guilds will take advantage of that spec niche success? Of course they are, but this may not be stoppable. Is the encounter possible with a reasonable comp? That's what designers ask themselves. If we do come across situations where you need "X" to win? That's where we step in and change mechanics or narrow the gap when it comes to spec niches. We want everyone to have situations where they feel awesome.

Q) How do you feel about Garrison missions giving out BRF Mythic loot when they haven't done it?

A) It's fine. That's the point. Gives you gear relevant to your playstyle. Never raid? You'll get normal. Do some normal? You'll get heroic. Once every 2 weeks. You can tell the "mere peons" from the "fully Mythic geared raider" - it's fine, really.

Q) Group Finder?

A) Compartmentalization may be bad, but large buckets with activity.

Q) Which encounter was most well received?

A) Thogar, everyone loves that. Trains make everything cooler.

Q) Can the "Kick Player" options be revisited?

A) Yes we're looking very closely at it. Rules were added in patch 3.3 in Wrath, 2009. Today is a different world - 25 vs 5, griefers ,how loot works etc. Now that loot is personal, there's less reason to give stringent protections. Things used to be bad with people griefing loot rules - no really reason to kick the person now that loot is personal. So we're looking at changing things. This is a key advantage of personal loot.

Q) Can you talk a bit about the design phase of Kromog? No melee dps?

A) Mythic mehcanic is an extra phase that grows stalagmites that create an LOS that you can hide behind. Originally, these were far from the boss so melee couldn't DPS. We should have caught this earlier but we hot fixed this early. Seen a lot of kills now with melee representation.

Q) Is there an approach we can take to encouraging pugs to use personal loot? Personal opt out of Masterloot?

A) There's no reason not to use personal loot right now, it's equally rewarding as regular loot. This may be hard to see. Looking at improving the way personal loot plays and feels in future patches. I.e. looking for greater certainty in group drops, i.e. group loot system but with personal distribution. Looking for less variance. Social issues may be harder to deal with - group leaders are the decision makers and tend to use masterloot. The current solution is don't join those groups, or make your own groups with personal loot.

Q) Have you ever considered a community-created raid?

A) That would be interesting. It could go a million ways - i.e. mobs with 1 hp but all drop amazing epics! Maybe lots of terrifying memes. We take pride in handcrafting our encounters with Blizzard values but we do listen to community voice and that guides us. We try to avoid things that were frustrating and use things that were embraced in the past.

Q) Are there only 2 raid tiers this expansion?

A) Our focus is on reducing the gap in content between final tier and next expac. We know that Siege was too long - unacceptably long . We are commuted to reducing that. Whatever the right # of raid tiers is to avoid that is best. 6-7 months is good for a large raid tier, 13 months is too long.

Q) What's the point of warforged gear now that there's a set Mythic #? No 10/25 makes it obsolete?

A) Extra chance at WF in Mists was there to prop up a system we knew was untenable - keeping raids to 10 was easier so there had to be a reason to do 25. Incentive made that logistics worth while. We got rid of the extra chance but now the bonus-properties values in general make bosses still worth killing and exciting to kill. Not having a moment where you don't care what drops. WF makes it more personally exciting but also as a guild it gives you continued progression in that particular tier.

Q) How has the new loot system worked out in Dungeons/Heroics?

A) Initial concern about celebratory moment of killing a boss turns out, the benefits of personal loot making dungeon running collaborative vs. competitive massively outweigh those moments. We are trying to tackle the moment of ceremony i.e. in patch 6.1 we added a visual, dark-souls-flavour image popping up for killing a boss.

Q) Why do so many instances have elevators, where are the slides and roller coasters??

A) Elevators are convenient and well-established. We didn't have the movement force stuff in the past, the original idea in Throne of the Tides was supposed to be a water stream pushing you up to the top but we didn't have the tech at the time.

Q) More balanced loot drops for LFR in the next tier?

A) Yes, there are a lot of different needs without making the loot tables too deep. We can do better. Should feel like you have meaningful set of items in LFR.

Q) Timewalker feature?

A) Working on, maybe have something to talk about soon. Jist of this was scaling down your character to lower dungeons, instances at that level.

A) Non-Spirit issue for healers. The issue with the personal loot/caches is that this felt like a bug when tanks/healers got items without spirit/bonus armor. We'd rather make spirit better for Holy Pally/Mistweaver than make them want dps trinkets. The problem is we've made you not want a spirit trinket ,that's a real problem. We don't want to create items that are BIS for 12-15 different specs. Something drops and half the raid rolls? That's a bad feeling.

Q) Do you feel like raid CDs are still too strong? Fights still feel like which CDs do we use when?

A) No, I don't think they are, especially the non-healer cooldowns. Answer in MOP to burst damage was more OS cooldowns. They aren't make or break now. Tranq and Healing Tide do feel more impactful than say holy radiance and we need to do better at that. Sometimes cooldowns are planned, sometimes they are emergency cooldowns and in those roles they are useful and important. Planning cooldowns is cool team work and means organized group has an advantage.

A) Keeping an eye on success rates in various types of groups. We've made some tweaks to earlier encounters for accessible entry points but bear in mind it's one large tier and is a continuation of Highmaul. Entry bosses in Normal BRF are tuned to the expectation that you have normal mode HM gear or BRF LFR gear, which hasn't been open long enough. ~650 ilvl should be accessible for BRF and if you're not at that level, do more Highmaul.

Q) Will Blizzard have a sanctioned world first race or leave it as is?

A) Leave it, we like the community driven race as is. Only formalized thing is achievements. Ensuring perfect fairness would create impossible expectations. We create the hardest content in the world and we want players to rise to the challenge and meet it and we're always eager to see who is able to meet it. It's a great experience for those striving to achieve that goal and spectators. Only regret is that a lot happens clandestinely - only spectator interaction is refreshing forum threads. Takes a lot out of it but secrecy is part of the nature and experience of the game.

Q) Can we please have something like a Mythic 5-man Dungeon? 650 required, unique drops?

Blizzard just posted two important news stories. First off, they have a very in-depth interview about the raids in Mists of Pandaria. There are some important tidbits shared in this discussion:

Mogu’shan Vaults will be the first raid and it will probably be delayed up to a week on release, so there is less pressure to hit level cap as a raider.

The other two raids will unlock weeks after Vaults to give raiders even more time acclimate.

Lore has been really thought out this time around. The instances should ideally flow into each other, as opposed to back in WotLK where they felt so jarringly different. For example, you'll fight the Sha of Fear at the end of one raid only to have her flee to the next.

The raid rewards players with items with the following item levels: item level 476 for Raid Finder, 489 for normal mode, and 502 for Heroic.

Other than that, Blizzard also confirmed that Brewfest will be delayed so it doesn't make players feel rushed to experience Mists of Pandaria as well as do the holiday. This is welcomed news, as most players complained about it in the weeks prior!

With the launch fast approaching, Blizzard Insider sat down with Lead Encounter Designers Scott Mercer and Ion Hazzikostas to get an inside look at the expansion’s newest raid instance -- Mogu’shan Vaults -- and the ancient secrets and epic encounters that await players inside.

Before we dive into the details, can you give us a quick overview of the lore behind the Mogu’shan Vaults? How does the raid fit into larger story of Mists of Pandaria?

Scott Mercer: The mogu are an ancient race of evil, ogre-like sorcerers who once dominated Pandaria. At some point in the distant past, all of the warring mogu factions were united by a single tyrannical warlord known as the Thunder King. The Thunder King rose to power the “the mogu way,” namely by eliminating his rivals one by one. According to legend he was able to accomplish this with the help of a mysterious artifact that he found in the depths of a mountain. After his rise to power, he built the Mogu’shan Vaults to contain and protect this secret, and converted the surrounding structure into a sort of shrine dedicated to the mogu empire. The complex houses many of the empire’s lost artifacts and is the resting place of the spirits of old mogu kings.

Ion Hazzikostas: At the time Mists of Pandaria begins, the Thunder King is long gone and the mogu empire has crumbled into isolated factions. As great and powerful secrets are wont to do, the Vaults have attracted a number of interested parties, including Zandalari trolls who are trying to enter the Vaults to get at the ancient source of mogu power, which is the key to their tribe’s survival. When the players arrive, they join forces with a pandaren Loremaster who knows of a way into the Vaults. The Loremasters are a new faction dedicated to learning and retelling the oral history of Pandaria, so the Vaults are naturally a place of tremendous interest to them.

What’s in store inside the Vaults from the gameplay side?

Scott Mercer: We’re building an epic new raid that includes 10- and 25-player versions with both normal and Heroic modes, as well as another 25-player version available exclusively via the Raid Finder. The Vaults contain six encounters with a wide variety of mechanics.

What kinds of encounters are planned for the Mogu’shan Vaults?

Ion Hazzikostas: The players’ characters are the first living beings to set foot inside the Mogu’shan Vaults in a few millennia, and the experience plays out as a classic “tomb raid” adventure, with mystical defenders and guardians emerging to protect the place’s secrets. In fact, the first boss encounter involves a pack of giant quilin -- magical, lion-like stone constructs -- that have stood motionless since the Vaults were sealed but awaken as fierce defenders once the players intrude upon their lair. The four quilin statues have different abilities based on the type of stone from which they were carved, and players will have to experiment to uncover their weaknesses. As players venture deeper into the Vaults, they’ll encounter other protectors, including a celestial dragon and the spirits of the mogu kings from ages past.

Scott Mercer: It’s important to note, too, that the Thunder King doesn’t make a direct appearance in the Vaults, though his presence is certainly felt. His original source of power lies hidden deep within the Vaults, and the mogu have learned to use that power to create most of the guardians that the players fight in the Vaults. Observant players may even notice a certain “titanic” influence in lair’s defenses.

What details can you share about the final boss encounter?

Ion Hazzikostas: The core chamber of the Vaults contains an army of terracotta warriors that are built into recesses within the walls. If players look up, they’ll see these statue-filled niches stretching above them into the distance. When the players enter, the statues begin animating and attacking in huge waves, and the fight quickly turns into a free-for-all. There will be certain heavy-hitting statues that require tanking, and many of the other statues have special abilities to keep the non-tanks busy. It’s going to be a crazy fight that requires lots of crowd control.

Scott Mercer: The encounter as a whole is known as the “Will of the Emperor,” and it represents the Vault’s last line of defense between the players and whatever mysterious power source originally allowed the Thunder King to rise to power. By the time players complete the raid, they should have a clear understanding of how the mogu were able to dominate Pandaria for so long.

What design challenges have you encountered during the development of the raid so far?

Ion Hazzikostas: In past raids, we’ve worked with a lot of the established races from Warcraft lore. For example, when we sit down to design a troll dungeon, we have a pretty clear idea of what that’s going to look like and what kinds of creatures the players are going to find there -- you know, besides just trolls. Pandaria offered us a blank slate of sorts, as the continent has been alluded to in Warcraft lore, but we’ve never really fleshed out the details until now.

Scott Mercer: This meant we’ve spent a lot of time and energy on building out what we call the “kit” for each of the expansion’s new races. A kit includes all kinds of things, from the armor and weapons used by the race to the architecture and environmental themes that go with the race. Part of the “kit” includes what kinds of monsters are found together; for example, the mogu are fond of using quilin statues as guardians, so those two monster types are often seen together. Our primary goal was to make sure the mogu felt visually and thematically distinct from the other Warcraft races, while still making sure they fit into the larger world of Azeroth. Establishing the kit for the mogu, and indeed all of Pandaria’s races, has been a fun challenge.

Let’s talk loot! What rewards await players who are strong enough to take on the raid?

Ion Hazzikostas: The raid rewards players with powerful epic items, depending on the difficulty setting: item level 476 for Raid Finder, 489 for normal mode, and 502 for Heroic. There’s also a new mount that can be obtained by defeating Elegon, a celestial dragon found deep within the Vaults. The mount looks a bit like the Celestial Steed, but in the form of a serpentine dragon.

How does Mogu’shan Vaults fit into the larger raiding plan for Mists of Pandaria?

Scott Mercer: There will be two outdoor world bosses, along with the Mogu’shan Vaults raid instance, available when Mists of Pandaria first launches. One idea we’re considering is to delay opening Mogu’shan Vaults until a week or so after the expansion’s release, similar to how we’ve always handled the start of the PvP season, just to give players a little time to reach level 90 along with their friends and get acclimated to Pandaria’s new 5-player dungeons, daily quests, and scenarios. In any case, Mogu’shan Vaults is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the raid content we have lined up for Mists.

Ion Hazzikostas: Mists of Pandaria will also include two other raid zones, which we plan to make available a few weeks after Mogu’shan Vaults: the Heart of the Fear and Terrace of Endless Spring. These two raids feature 10 bosses between the two of them and play out as a two-part story. In the first raid, the Heart of Fear, the players fight the mantid empress who has been possessed by the Sha of Fear. Sha, for those who don’t know, plague Pandaria as physical manifestations of negative emotions, like fear, doubt, and anger, and they tend to have a corrupting influence wherever they take root. When the players defeat the possessed empress, the Sha flees her body and hides elsewhere. In the Terrace of Endless Spring, the next raid instance, the players track down the fleeing Sha and finish it off. Both of these instances are a higher tier than the Mogu’shan Vaults and are designed to be tackled using gear obtained in the Vaults, which is why we plan to make them accessible a few weeks after the Vaults unlock.

Scott Mercer: Yup, and all of this is just the raid content coming before our first major content update. We’ll be announcing even more raiding details in future when we start discussing patch 5.1.

Thanks for your time. Is there anything else you’d like to share before you go?

Ion Hazzikostas: I just wanted to say thanks to all of our beta testers. We’re very proud of our dungeon and raid content so far, and we’re looking forward to getting it all out there when Mists of Pandaria launches.

Scott Mercer: Yeah, we have big plans for Pandaria’s encounters, and it’s great to see it all starting to come together. Keep the feedback coming!

We've been holding off on posting the encounter journals and loot tables until they've gotten more filled out. Last Friday's patch, however, seems to have added a lot of data: there are loot tables and a lot more abilities added! The only journals that seem incomplete are the world bosses, which makes sense as they are probably deciding what mounts and rare items to assign them.

Be sure to check out each bosses and their back stories as well--Hoptallus is by far the most menacing of this expansion!

Raids

Straddling the mountain range between the Jade Forest and the Vale of Eternal Blossoms, the Terrace of Endless Spring has been a sacred refuge for millennia. Its peaceful fountains are said to have the power to heal and rejuvenate, but when the Sha of Fear attacked, many of the complex's guardians turned on each other in fits of terror.

Sha of Fear

The Sha of Fear is the physical manifestation of terror in Pandaria. Imprisoned by the legendary pandaren emperor Shao Hao long ago, the entity has been newly strengthened by rising conflict across the island.

The Terrace of Endless Spring:The Sha of Fear looms atop the Terrace, attempting to consume the pure light emanating from its center.

Pure Light: A narrow column of uncorrupted light still projects skyward from the center of the terrace. When a player stands in this light it bends, forming a protective wall that extends back from this Champion of the Light in a 'V' shape. This attracts the attention of the Sha of Fear, who fixates on the Champion.

Wall of Light: The Champion and other players standing within the wall of light take 10% reduced damage from all sources. The wall also deflects the Sha's Breath of Fear attack.

Breath of Fear: The Sha of Fear unleashes a horrible breath attack, inflicting 248625 to 261375 Shadow damage to all enemies over 1 sec. Afflicted enemies are also feared for 5 sec. Players standing behind the Wall of Light are unaffected.

Eerie Skull: The Sha throws a skull at a player's location, inflicting 36000 to 44000 Shadow damage to enemies within 0 yards of the impact point.

Ominous Cackle: The Sha cackles ominously and transports a group of players to one of the outer shrines to battle a former guardian of the terrace.

Terror Spawn: The Sha periodically summons a pair of Terror Spawns to attack players. A bulwark of dark energy protecting each Terror Spawn deflects spells and attacks that strike the front of the creature.

Penetrating Bolt: The Terror Spawn hurls a bolt of Sha energy at a player's location, inflicting 57000 to 63000 Shadow damage to enemies within 0 yards of the impact point. Affected enemies take 25% increased Shadow damage for 15 sec.

Reaching Attack: The Sha strikes at a distant target, inflicting 100% of weapon damage as Shadow and increasing Shadow damage taken by 20% for 12 sec. The Sha uses this ability when no targets are in melee range.

Lei's Hope: The light in the terrace seems to glow more brightly after players force the Sha to retreat to the Dread Expanse. Attack and casting speeds are increased by 20% within the Terrace of Endless Spring on subsequent attempts.

The Outer Shrines:The group of players transported by Ominous Cackle must defeat one of three Sha possessed crossbowmen. The former terrace guardians Yang Guoshi, Cheng Kang, and Jinlun Kun attack the players.

Shoot: The caster shoots at the target, inflicting 75% weapon damage as Physical.

Dread Spray: The caster rapidly fires sprays of Dread Bolts in specific directions for 8 sec. The caster gains immunity to taunt for the duration. Each spray of Dread Bolts fires in a cone in front of the caster, inflicting 75% of weapon damage as Shadow and afflicting the target for 8 sec. At 2 stacks, the Dread Spray fears the target for 2 sec.

Death Blossom: The caster spins in a circle, unleashing a hail of bolts in all directions for 6 sec. Each bolt that strikes an enemy inflicts 23750 to 26250 Physical damage.

Sha Globe: Globes of Sha energy are knocked out of the possessed crossbowman as he loses health. Touching a globe will consume it, inflicting 10000 Shadow damage but refilling the player's primary resource. If not consumed within 8 sec the globe will return to the bowman, healing him for 8% of his maximum health.

Fearless: Defeating any of the possessed crossbowmen allows the group to return to the central terrace and grants them 60% increased damage and healing, 60% increased movement speed, and immunity to Fear effects for 30 sec.

The Dread Expanse:On heroic difficulty the Sha of Fear retreats to the Dread Expanse at low remaining health, dragging players along with him. This watery wasteland is a place of the Sha's making where he has access to a new set of abilities.

Fading Light: The last glimmers of light from the terrace heal players as they are extinguished, restoring 90% health and mana over 6 sec. In addition, all player cooldowns are reset.

Pure Light: The uncorrupted light from the terrace binds itself to the current champion and takes on a new form. It grows stronger, granting the champion immunity to fear and horror effects and reduces their damage taken by 25%.

Transfer Light: The champion can use this ability to move the Pure Light to a targeted friendly player.

Implacable Strike: The Sha unleashes an Implacable Strike in the direction of his current target that inflicts 605500 to 794500 damage to enemies up to 0 yards away.

Naked and Afraid: The Sha strips the gear from his current target before performing Implacable Strike, reducing the target's armor and chance to dodge by 100% for 40 sec.

Waterspout: The Sha agitates the water under several players, creating a series of waterspouts. Each waterspout takes 1.5 sec. to form and explode, inflicting 121875 to 128125 Frost damage to enemies within 2 yds.

Huddle in Terror: The Sha terrifies several players, causing them to cower in fear and inflicting 80000 Shadow damage every 1 sec. for 15 sec.

Submerge: The Sha disappears below the surface of the Dread Expanse for a short time, then emerges under a random player and inflicts 585000 to 615000 Frost damage to enemies within 10 yds. The Sha summons a Dread Spawn at his location every time he submerges.

Dread Spawn: This creature fixates on the current champion of the light. If a new player becomes the champion the Dread Spawn changes targets.

Eternal Darkness: The Dread Spawn kills his current target when he reaches melee range.

Gathering Speed: The Dread Spawn periodically gains 100% movement speed. This effect can stack up to 3 times, but is reset when a new Champion of the Light is chosen.

Protectors of the Endless

When the Sha of Fear invaded the Terrace of Endless Spring, three venerated jinyu protectors were corrupted, and they betrayed the other mortal sentinels, slaying them all. The twisted guardians have now turned their attention to any intruders who might interrupt the sha's attack on the area's last defenses.

Sha Corruption: Killing a member of the Protectors causes Sha Corruption to explode from their bodies and possess the remaining Protectors. Sha Corruption heals each Protector to their maximum health, increases their damage done by 25%, and grants them additional abilities.

Defiled Ground: Protector Kaolan uses this ability after gaining a single dose of Sha Corruption.Protector Kaolan desecrates the land beneath a player's location for the remainder of the fight, inflicting 65000 Shadow damage every second and increasing damage taken from Defiled Ground by 10% for 1 min. This effect stacks.

Expel Corruption: Protector Kaolan uses this ability after gaining two doses of Sha Corruption.Protector Kaolan expels a mass of corruption at his location for the remainder of the fight, inflicting 85000 Shadow damage to all players within 30 yards every 3 seconds. The damage of Expelled Corruption decreases as a player stands farther away from the source of corruption.

Elder Regail:

Lightning Bolt: Elder Regail hurls a bolt of lightning at his current target, inflicting 185000 to 215000 Nature damage.

Lightning Prison: Elder Regail imprisons 2 players in a field of lightning and stuns them. The Lightning Prison causes each player to inflict 35000 Nature damage every second to all players within 7 yards.

In 25 player Difficulty, Elder Regail imprisons 5 players.

Lightning Storm: Elder Regail uses this ability after gaining a single dose of Sha Corruption.Elder Regail summons a Lightning Storm, creating several waves of lightning strikes. The first wave strikes at Elder Regail's location and then successive waves strike in a ring around him at 20, 40, 60 and 80 yards. Each strike inflicts 92500 to 107500 Nature damage to all players within 10 yards of Lightning Storm's impact.

Overwhelming Corruption: Elder Regail uses this ability after gaining two doses of Sha Corruption.Corruption overwhelms Elder Regail, inflicting 6500 Shadow damage to all players every 3 seconds and increases their damage taken from Overwhelming Corruption by 10%. This effect stacks.

Elder Asani:

Water Bolt: Elder Asani hurls a bolt of water at a random player's location, inflicting 46250 to 53750 Nature damage to all players within 3 yards of the targeted location.

Cleansing Waters: Elder Asani summons a globe of Cleansing Waters at a Protector's location. When the globe reaches the ground, it heals all targets within 3.5 yards for 5% of their total health every second. Targets also receive 50% additional healing from all sources for 30 sec.

Corrupted Waters: Elder Asani uses this ability after gaining a single dose of Sha Corruption.Elder Asani summons a globe of Corrupted Water that empowers all Protectors, granting them 100% melee and casting speed until destroyed.

Overwhelming Corruption: Elder Asani uses this ability after gaining two doses of Sha Corruption.Corruption overwhelms Elder Asani, inflicting 6500 Shadow damage to all players every 3 seconds and increases their damage taken from Overwhelming Corruption by 10%. This effect stacks.

Minion of Fear:Minions of Fear pour from the Terrace of Endless Spring, pursuing the Protector with the lowest remaining health.

Corrupted Essence: When a Minion of Fear dies, it infects the 2 closest players with Corrupted Essence, increasing their damage done by 10% for 2 min. This effect stacks up to $118191U times.If Corrupted Essence ever reaches $118191U stacks, the player replaces the Corrupted Essence effect with the Essence of Fear.

Essence of Fear: The Essence of Fear inflicts 250000 Shadow damage to all players within 30 yards.

Greater Corrupted Essence: When a Minion of Fear reaches a Protector, it fills them with Greater Corrupted Essence, increasing their damage done by 10% for 2 min. This effect stacks up to $117905U times.If Greater Corrupted Essence ever reaches $117905U stacks, the Protector replaces the Greater Corrupted Essence effect with the Greater Essence of Fear.

Greater Essence of Fear: The Greater Essence of Fear inflicts 500000 Shadow damage to all players and horrifies them for 3 sec.

Tsulong

Legends speak of a spiraling, golden serpent that can sometimes be seen high in the sky, basking in the sunlight above the clouds. The few who claim to have observed it themselves say the creature is fiercely protective of the terrace.

The Night:Tsulong struggles at Night with the Sha's corrupting influence. Bringing Tsulong's remaining health to zero while at Night permanently destroys the Sha's influence over him. When he reaches 100 energy, he temporarily purges the Sha's influence and radiant sunlight turns Night into Day.

Dread Shadows: The Dread Shadows created by the Sha within Tsulong inflict 9750 to 10250 Shadow damage on all players and increases their Dread Shadows damage taken by 10%. This effect stacks.

Nightmares: The Sha within Tsulong projects Nightmares at the location of a random player. The Nightmares inflict 48750 to 51250 Shadow damage and fear players within 8 yards of the impact for 3 sec.

Shadow Breath: Tsulong expels out Sha energy in a 30 degree cone in front of him, inflicting 136500 to 143500 Shadow damage and increasing Shadow damage taken by 100% for 30 sec. This effect stacks.

Sunbeam: Tsulong's attempts to resist the Sha allow him to protect the players from Dread Shadows. Tsulong summons a Sunbeam onto the battlefield, and the Sunbeam grants immunity to Dread Shadows for players standing within the beam. The protected area of the Sunbeam shrinks over time as more players stand within it.

The Dark of Night: The Dark of Night appears at a random location and moves towards the nearest Sunbeam. The Dark of Night extinguishes a Sunbeam upon reaching it.

The Day:During the Day, Tsulong gains the upper hand over the Sha corruption. Players may heal and aid Tsulong during the Day, and bringing him to full health while in the Day permanently destroys the Sha's influence over him. When he reaches 100 energy, the Sha corrupts his emotions and Night descends upon the Terrace.

Embodied Terror: Embodied Terrors spawn as the Sha fights to control Tsulong. When players destroy an Embodied Terror, five Fright Spawns burst out.

Terrorize: The Embodied Terror casts Terrorize on both a random player and on Tsulong. The terror inflicts 10% of the player's current health as Shadow damage every 1 sec for 10 sec. Tsulong suffers 1% of his total health as Shadow damage every 1 sec. for 10 sec.

Unstable Bolt: The Unstable Sha unleashes shadowy energy at a random player, inflicting 48750 to 51250 Shadow damage on the target. The Unstable Bolt also damages the Unstable Sha for 10% of its maximum health.

Instability: If an Unstable Sha reaches Tsulong, it inflicts 975000 to 1025000 Shadow damage on Tsulong and disappears.

Sun Breath: Tsulong breathes out solar energy in a 60-degree cone in front of him, inflicting 3900000 to 4100000 Nature damage to Sha within 0 yards and stunning them for 8 sec. The breath also places the Bathed in Light effect on players within its area.

Bathed in Light: The warmth of the Sun instantly restores 25% of a player's total mana and increases their healing done by 500% for 6 sec.

The Light of Day: The Light of Day appears at a random location. Interacting with The Light of Day restores mana every 1 sec. and increases healing done by 1500% for 6 sec. The amount of mana restored increases while the healing done decreases over the duration of the effect.

Lei Shi

For countless years, this friendly water spirit frolicked in the Fountains of Endless Spring with childlike wonder and glee. When fighting suddenly broke out in this peaceful place, Lei Shi saw the crystal-clear water turn cloudy and murky, and terror fell over her mind.

Afraid: Lei Shi grows more afraid as players hurt her. She gains 1% casting speed for each 1 percent health of her total health lost.

Spray: Lei Shi casts Spray instead of using melee attacks. Spray causes water to burst from the ground at a player's feet, inflicting 104000-218400 Frost damage to all players within 2.5 yards and increasing their Frost damage taken by 10% for 15 sec.

Hide: Lei Shi hides from players. Players cannot target her while hiding, but area of effect attacks and spells can still hit her. Lei Shi reveals herself after the players strike her enough times.

Get Away!: Lei Shi channels the waters of the Endless Spring, pushing players away and inflicting 60000 periodic Frost damage. Players who fight the current take half damage. Lei Shi channels for 30 sec or until players inflict 5% of her maximum health in damage.

Protect: Lei surrounds herself with an inpenetrable bubble and animates several elementals to protect her. She maintains the bubble until players defeat one of her Animated Protectors.

Animated Protector: When Lei Shi casts Protect, she animates these elementals from the bracers scattered throughout the area. The elementals turn back into water and fall to the ground when the effect ends.

Scary Fog: Sha energy coalesces around several players, inflicting 5000 Shadow damage every 2 sec. for 40 sec. In addition, players and enemies near an afflicted player take 5% more damage from all sources. This effect stacks.

The mogu, proud of their supremacy, kept lengthy records of their accomplishments within a great complex of vaults. Guarded by ferocious magical beings, these sacred chambers have remained silent since the mogu's departure.

The Stone Guard

The first line of defense against those daring to enter the vaults is a stolid row of enchanted, bestial statues. Hard as granite and ceaseless in their vigil, the sentries of the Stone Guard present an insurmountable wall of flame, fangs, and claws.

Amethyst Guardian: The Amethyst Guardian gains energy when within 12 yards of another Guardian. The Guardian uses this energy to cast Amethyst Overload. If no other Guardian is within range, it instead gains the Solid Stone effect.

In 10 player Normal Difficulty, a rotating set of three of the four guardians are present each week.

In 10 player Heroic Difficulty, a rotating set of three of the four guardians are present each week.

In Raid Finder Difficulty, a rotating set of three of the four guardians are present each week.

Amethyst Overload: Upon reaching full energy the guardian overloads, inflicting 150000 Shadow damage to all enemies and interrupting Amethyst Petrification. The Overload does not free fully petrified enemies.

Amethyst Petrification: The Guardian attempts to turn its enemies to amethyst, reducing the Shadow damage they take by 90% but progressively slowing their movement speed. Enemies who reach 100 stacks of Petrification turn to stone and cannot move or act.

Cobalt Guardian: The Cobalt Guardian gains energy when within 12 yards of another Guardian. The Guardian uses this energy to cast Cobalt Overload. If no other Guardian is within range, it instead gains the Solid Stone effect.

In 10 player Normal Difficulty, a rotating set of three of the four guardians are present each week.

In 10 player Heroic Difficulty, a rotating set of three of the four guardians are present each week.

In Raid Finder Difficulty, a rotating set of three of the four guardians are present each week.

Cobalt Mine: Launches a charged cobalt shard at a player's location. After a 2 sec arming time, any player within 7 yds will detonate the shard, inflicting 71250 to 78750 Frost damage and rooting all players within 7 yds for 6 sec.

Cobalt Overload: Upon reaching full energy the guardian overloads, inflicting 150000 Arcane damage to all enemies and interrupting Cobalt Petrification. The Overload does not free fully petrified enemies.

Cobalt Petrification: The Guardian attempts to turn its enemies to cobalt, reducing the Arcane damage they take by 90% but progressively slowing their movement speed. Enemies who reach 100 stacks of Petrification turn to stone and cannot move or act.

Jade Guardian: The Jade Guardian gains energy when within 12 yards of another Guardian. The Guardian uses this energy to cast Jade Overload. If no other Guardian is within range, it instead gains the Solid Stone effect.

In 10 player Normal Difficulty, a rotating set of three of the four guardians are present each week.

In 10 player Heroic Difficulty, a rotating set of three of the four guardians are present each week.

In Raid Finder Difficulty, a rotating set of three of the four guardians are present each week.

Jade Shards: The Jade Guardian fires shards of jade in all directions, inflicting 24700 to 27300 Nature damage to all players.

Jade Overload: Upon reaching full energy the guardian overloads, inflicting 150000 Nature damage to all enemies and interrupting Jade Petrification. The Overload does not free fully petrified enemies.

Jade Petrification: The Guardian attempts to turn its enemies to jade, reducing the Nature damage they take by 90% but progressively slowing their movement speed. Enemies who reach 100 stacks of petrification turn to stone and cannot move or act.

Jasper Guardian: The Jasper Guardian gains energy when within 12 yards of another Guardian. The Guardian uses this energy to cast Jasper Overload. If no other Guardian is within range, it instead gains the Solid Stone effect.

In 10 player Normal Difficulty, a rotating set of three of the four guardians are present each week.

In 10 player Heroic Difficulty, a rotating set of three of the four guardians are present each week.

In Raid Finder Difficulty, a rotating set of three of the four guardians are present each week.

Jasper Chains: The Jasper Guardian chains two enemy targets together. While the targets are over 1649 to 2098 (+ 180% of SpellPower) yds apart the chains inflict 30000 Fire damage every 1 sec. This damage increases by 20% each second they remain apart. The chains will break if the targets remain apart for 15 total seconds.

Jasper Overload: Upon reaching full energy the guardian overloads, inflicting 150000 Fire damage to all enemies and interrupting Jasper Petrification. The Overload does not free fully petrified enemies.

Jasper Petrification: The Guardian attempts to turn its enemies to jasper, reducing the Fire damage they take by 90% but progressively slowing their movement speed. Enemies who reach 100 stacks of petrification turn to stone and cannot move or act.

Shared Abilities:All four guardians have access to these abilities.

Solid Stone: When no other stone guards are nearby the Guardian reverts to stone form. While in this form it takes 90% reduced damage but cannot gain energy.

Power Down: When the guardians reach 75% and 40% remaining health, one of them will power down all Energized Tiles in the room to prevent players from using the energy.

Encounter Area:

White Floor Tiles: These tiles absorb the energy from Living Amethyst, Living Cobalt, Living Jade, and Living Jasper when a player stands on them. Each tile absorbs one charge of energy. For each tile currently energized in the room, every player gains a stack of Energized Tiles.

Energized Tiles: The energy of the living stone flows through the room tiles, empowering players and increasing damage dealt by 1% and Spirit by 1%. This effect stacks.

Living Amethyst Crystal: The energy that powers the Amethyst Guardian forms into a crystal. Players who interact with this crystal gain the Living Amethyst effect.

Feng the Accursed

Long ago, Feng Shri was the Mogu'shan Vaults' caretaker, tasked with preserving the treasures kept within these shadowy halls. After years of faithful service, he was caught stealing from the shelves (although some say he was framed by a jealous underling) and the mogu ruler punished him with a fatal curse. The doomed spirit of Feng Shri has wandered the vaults ever since, communing with the shades of past mogu heroes and warlords.

In 25 Player and 25 Player Heroic Difficulty, Feng the Accursed hits 8 random players with Spirit Bolts.

Strength of Spirit: Every time Feng absorbs a Mogu Champion Spirit, his damage dealt increases by 5% for the remainder of the encounter.

Essence of the Mogu Champions:Around 95%, 66%, and 33% remaining life, Feng siphons the essence out of a pre-selected statue of Mogu Champions past, gaining their boon.

In Heroic Difficulty, Feng siphons from the statue nearest to him around 100%, 75%, 50%, and 25%.

Spirit of the Fist:

Lightning Fists: Feng slams a lightning-charged fist into the ground, causing a shockwave to pulse in front of him. The shockwave inflicts 117000 Nature damage and stuns those caught in its path.

Lightning Fists: Feng slams a lightning-charged fist into the ground, inflicting 78000 to 82000 Nature damage and causing three shockwaves to pulse in front of him. The shockwave inflicts 117000 Nature damage and stuns those caught in its path.

Epicenter: Feng channels a violent earthquake that inflicts Nature damage. The quake inflicts more damage towards its epicenter, and reduces players' chance to hit by 75%.

Spirit of the Spear:

Flaming Spear: Feng's fiery spear sears the flesh of his current target, inflicting 50% of his normal melee attack as Fire damage. The fire then inflicts an additional 19500 to 20500 Fire damage every 2 sec. for 20 sec.

Wildfire Spark: Feng the Accursed targets a random player then engulfs them with a Wildfire Spark. The Spark explodes after 5 seconds, igniting a Wildfire at their location. The Wildfire then spreads out and inflicts 116975 Fire damage every 1 sec. to any player standing within the fire.

Draw Flame: Feng attempts to absorb the Wildfire and cause his melee swings to inflict 18500 to 21500 additional Fire damage to all enemies.

Spirit of the Staff:

Arcane Velocity: Feng channels an Arcane storm, inflicting 15843 to 16656 Arcane damage every 1 sec. to all enemies. The bolts from the storm inflict increasing damage to targets as they stand further away from Feng.

Arcane Resonance: Feng charges random players with Arcane Resonance, inflicting 1000 Arcane damage to the target and all other nearby players within 6 yards. Each additional affected player amplifies the damage done to them all by 1000.

Spirit of the Shield:

Siphoning Shield: Feng's cursed shield draws the souls of 10 random enemies to it, healing him for 5% of his life per absorbed soul.

Siphoning Shield: Feng's cursed shield draws the souls of 5 random enemies to it, healing him for 10% of his life per absorbed soul.

Chains of Shadow: Feng strikes a random player with a Chain of Shadow that arcs to another nearby player. The Chain affects up to 8 targets, inflicting diminishing Shadow damage to each successive target.

Stolen Essences of Stone:Players assuming the tank role gain access to the leftover essence shards from the awakened statues.

Nullification Barrier: Players with this Stolen Essence of Stone may place a Nullification Barrier around themselves. The Barrier negates any harmful magical effects cast on players standing inside the Barrier.

Shroud of Reversal: The Shroud of Reversal allows players with this Stolen Essence of Stone to target a player suffering from a harmful effect, then cast a copy of that effect at Feng the Accursed.

Gara'jal the Spiritbinder

Leader of the Zandalar trolls' assault on the vaults, Gara'jal is determined to crack open this trove of ancient mystery and bring back whatever arcane power and knowledge he can find. Gifted with dark talents and surrounded by a loyal cadre of Zandalar mystics, he has broken through the outer walls and will not rest until the vaults belong to him.

Cross Over: Spirit Totems cause the nearest $116166I players within 6.5 yards to cross over to the spirit world when they are destroyed. The process of Crossing Over leaves the victim with 30% of their current health.

Cross Over: Players use Spirit Totems to cross over into the spirit world. Players exist in the spirit world for 30 sec before returning to the real world and gain the ability Return Soul.

Return Soul: Return Soul causes the player to return their soul to their body in the real world.

The Spirit World: Players crossing over to the Spirit World must return to the real world within 30 sec or die.

Frail Soul: Returning to the real world from the Spirit World inflicts players with a Frail Soul for 30 sec. Attempting to cross into the Spirit World with a Frail Soul kills the player.

Spiritual Innervation: Healing a player in the Spirit World energizes their soul with Spiritual Innervation. The effect of Spiritual Innervation varies depending on the class and specialization of the healed player, and the effect grows as the player continues to receive heals.

Revitalized Spirit: When a player in the Spirit World is healed to full, their spirit is revitalized. Players with Revitalized Spirit gain the Return Soul ability.

Return Soul: Return Soul causes the player to return their soul to their body in the real world.

Shadowy Minion: Shadowy Minions only exist in the Spirit World, but damage players in the real world with Spiritual Grasp.

Spiritual Grasp: A Shadowy Minion reaches into the real world with a Spritual Grasp, inflicting 18000 to 22000 Shadow damage on a random player in the real world.

Shadow Bolt: A Shadowy Minion fires a bolt at a random player in the Spirit World, inflicting 24050 to 27950 Shadow damage.

Voodoo Dolls: Gara'jal the Spiritbinder fixates on his current target and 2 other players to turn into Voodoo Dolls. A Voodoo Doll opies 90% of their damage received to all other Voodoo Dolls in the raid. The Voodoo Doll effect persists until either the victim perishes or Gara'jal the Spiritbinder banishes his fixated target to the Spirit World.Players turned into Voodoo Dolls cannot enter the Spirit World.

In 25 player raids, Gara'jal chooses 3 other players from the raid to turn into Voodoo Dolls.

Banishment: Gara'jal the Spiritbinder banishes his current target to the Spirit World. While in the Spirit World, a Severer of Souls assaults the victim.

In Heroic Difficulty, three Severers of Souls attack.

Severer of Souls: Severers of Souls attempt to tear apart the soul of Banished victims.

Soul Sever: If players do not defeat every Severer of Souls within 30 sec., the Banished victim dies.

Soul Explosion: The Severer of Souls' immense spiritual energy explodes outward at a random player in the real world. The Soul Explosion inflicts 40500 to 49500 Shadow Damage to the target and all players within 5 yards of them.

The Spirit Kings

Ancient records tell of these legendary rulers, powerful mogu who carved an empire from the very rock of Pandaria. Their names still cause the land to tremble: Zian of the Endless Shadow, Meng Sharpfang, Qiang Steelskin, and Sebotai Swiftfoot. Some say their spirits lurk in the vaults, lost in ghostly memories of battle and glory.

Meng Sharpfang:When the players defeat the Mad King, he remains in battle in a weakened state and only uses his Maddening Shout ability.

Maddening Shout: The Maddening Shout of Meng Sharpfang causes all enemies to go mad, inflicting 2925 to 3075 Shadow damage every 3 sec. and causing all enemies to hate each other. Players regain their sanity after taking 10000 damage from another player.The Mad King retains Maddening Shout after being defeated.

Crazed: The Mad King becomes more insane every 0.5 sec. Crazed increases the Mad King's Physical damage dealt by a percentage equal to twice his current Insanity. When the Mad King reaches 100 Insanity, he switches personalities to Cowardice.

Cowardice: The Mad King becomes more insane every 0.5 sec. Cowardice causes the Mad King to reflect damage equal to 50% of his current Insanity. When the Mad King reaches 100 Insanity, he switches personalities to Crazed.

Qiang Steelskin:When the players defeat the Warlord King, he remains in battle in a weakened state and only uses his Flanking Orders ability.

Flanking Orders: The Warlord King orders a flank, calling in a wave of Mogu attackers. These Flanking Mogu cast Overhand Strike, inflicting 97500 to 102500 Physical damage to enemies in front of them within 0 yards.The Warlord King retains Flanking Orders after being defeated.

Massive Attacks: No single man or woman can stand against the brutal attacks of the Warlord King. His Massive Attacks inflict 400000 Physical damage, split among all enemies hit.

Annihilate: Qiang focuses on Annihilating his enemies in front of him, inflicting 200000 damage to enemies within 0 yards.

Impervious Shield: The Warlord King uses his Impervious Shield, gaining immunity to all attacks and spells and increasing his attack speed by 0% for 10 sec.

Sebotai Swiftfoot:When the players defeat the Bandit King, he remains in battle in a weakened state and only uses his Pillage ability.

Pillage: The Bandit King charges a random player and Pillages them, stealing all of the target's possessions. The Pillaged effect reduces the player's damage and healing done by 50% and reduces their armor by 50%.The Bandit King retains Pillage after being defeated.

Volley: Sebotai launches three Volleys in quick succession. The first inflicts 24375 to 25625 Physical damage to enemies in a large cone in front of the caster, then 48750 to 51250 Physical damage in a medium cone, and finally 68250 to 71750 Physical damage in a small cone.

Rain of Arrows: The Bandit King fires a Rain of Arrows at the location of a random player, inflicting Pinned Down on all targets within the 8 yard area. Pinned Down inflicts 9750 to 10250 Physical damage every 1 sec. until another player removes the arrow from the victim.

Sleight of Hand: Damaging attacks against the Bandit King cause the attacker to suffer being Robbed Blind. The effect reduces damage and healing done by 50% and reduces armor by 50%. The Bandit King becomes vulnerable to Stun effects while using Sleight of Hand.

Robbed Blind: Robbed Blind reduces the target's damage and healing done by 50% and reduces their armor by 50%.

Zian of the Endless Shadow:When the players defeat the Sorcerer King, he remains in battle in a weakened state and only uses his Undying Shadows ability.

Undying Shadows: The Sorcerer King creates an Undying Shadow at the location of a random player. The Undying Shadow inflicts 14625 to 15375 Shadow damage every 1 sec to players within 10 yards until destroyed.The Sorcerer King retains Undying Shadows after being defeated.

Undying Shadow: The Undying Shadow inflicts 14625 to 15375 Shadow damage every 1 sec to players within 10 yards until destroyed. An Undying Shadow fixates on the closest nearby player when the Sorcerer King summons it. After the Undying Shadow dies it starts to reform itself, creating Coalescing Shadows. After 30 seconds the Undying Shadow fully coalesces and reforms.

Shadow Blast: The Sorcerer King launches a Shadow Blast at the location of a random player. The Shadow Blast inflicts 68250 to 71750 Shadow damage upon impact to players within 8 yards of the targeted location.

Charged Shadows: The Sorcerer King blasts a random player with Charged Shadows, inflicting 57525 to 60475 Shadow damage to the target then chaining to further targets within 8 yards of each other.

Shield of Darkness: The Sorceror King protects himself with a Shield of Darkness. The Shield inflicts 292500 to 307500 Shadow damage to all enemies whenever a damaging ability lands on the Sorceror King.

Elegon

Dedicated to the advancement of their empire, the mogu salvaged and repurposed titan technology to generate untold power in the depths of this ancient complex. Why these energies have been focused into the cold will of a celestial dragon is a mystery that lies at the very heart of the vaults.

Energy Vortex:An active Energy Vortex transforms any player or creature who stands in it, granting a small taste of the Titan's true power.

In Heroic Difficulty, the Energy Vortex prevents targeting into or out of the Energy Vortex.

Touch of the Titans: Contact with the Energy Vortex transforms the target into celestial form, increasing all damage done by 50% and healing received by 50%.

Overcharged: The Energy Vortex periodically inflicts players with Overcharge, causing them to take 5% additional damage. This effect stacks.

Stage One: Entering Defensive Mode:Elegon activates the Energy Vortex, attacking with Celestial Breath and calling for Celestial Protectors to help defend the Engine of Nalak'sha.Stage One ends at 90% and 50% remaining health.

Materialize Protector: When Elegon has more than 50% remaining health, he summons a Celestial Protector to attack the players.

Celestial Protector: A construct of pure energy, the Celestial Protector serves as primary defense for the Engine of Nalak'sha.

Phasing: The Celestial Protector exists in a state of flux, held together by the immense power of the Energy Vortex. When the Protector has over 25% remaining health and exists outside the bounds of the Energy Vortex, players inflict 90% less damage to it.

Arcing Energy: The Celestial Protector inflicts 76000 to 84000 Arcane damage to two random players and applies Closed Circuit to each target.

Closed Circuit: After being hit by the Arcing Energy, the Closed Circuit reduces the healing received by the target by 50% for 20 sec.

Stage Two: Primary Power Offline:Elegon attempts to reactivate the Engine of Nalak'sha by creating Energy Charges to energize the Empyreal Focuses. If players destroy all Energy Charges in a wave, Elegon will continue to create more Energy Charges. The creation process permanently weakens his physical form.Stage Two ends once an Energy Charge leaves the Energy Vortex.

Draw Power: Elegon attempts to restart the Engine of Nalak'sha by constructing six Energy Charges from his own body, permanently increasing all damage taken by 10%. This effect stacks.

Energy Charge: A small part of Elegon himself, the Energy Charge contains enough Arcane energy to restart The Engine of Nalak'sha.

High Energy: With each successive cast of Draw Power, the created Energy Charge gains an additional 20% movement speed. This effect stacks.

Discharge: Upon reaching zero health, the Energy Charge explodes and inflicts 585000 to 615000 Arcane damage to all players.

Stage Three: Power Draw Stable:Elegon has reactivated The Engine of Nalak'sha, disabling the Energy Vortex and activating all Empyreal Focuses. Elegon shields himself from all damage.Stage Three ends once players destroy all the Empyreal Focuses.

Empyreal Focus: The Focuses activate whenever the Engine of Nalak'sha begins operation, venting energy into the surrounding platform. Damaging all six Empyreal Focuses temporarily disables the Engine of Nalak'sha.

Energy Cascade: Elegon fires a ball of Titan plasma at the location of random player, inflicting 190000 to 210000 Arcane damage on impact to players within 5 yards and creating a Cosmic Spark.

Cosmic Spark: Small pure energy constructs created by Elegon.

Will of the Emperor

The core chamber of the vaults is protected by stone soldiers who have been motionless for centuries. They are row upon row of warriors, statues armed for a battle that never began. What treasures do they guard? And what is their tie to the titanic power buried with them here in the shadows?

Emperor's Rage: The smallest Terracotta warriors, the Emperor's Rage strike quickly with dual axes and often formed the forward lines in Lei Shin's mechanical armies.

Focused Assault: Every Emperor's Rage fixates on a random player, attacking only that player until the player dies or the Rage can no longer attack them.

Unarmored: The Emperor's Rage wear very little armor, and all types of crowd control effects work against them.

Emperor's Courage: The Emperor's Courage carry a polearm to harry opponents and form a powerful defensive wall with shields and armor.

Focused Defense: The Emperor's Courage comes to the aid of Jan-xi or Qin-xi by fixating on a tank, attacking only that player until the player dies or the Courage can no longer attack them.

Impeding Thrust: The Impeding Thrust of the Emperor's Courage inflicts 150% normal melee damage and reduces the target's movement speed by 25% for 10 sec. Stacks up to $117485U times.

Half Plate: The Emperor's Courage wear armor protecting the front of their bodies. The Half Plate blocks or deflects any damage dealt by players to the front of the Emperor's Courage, but they remain susceptible to movement impairing effects.

Energizing Smash: The Emperor's Strength smash the ground in front of them, inflicting 200000 Physical damage to players within 10 yards of the strike zone and stunning them for 2 sec. The radius of the effect increases by 1 yard after each use of Energizing Smash.

Full Plate: The Emperor's Strength wear heavy armor that grants them immunity to all crowd control effects.

Jan-xi and Qin-xi:Jan-xi and Qin-xi activate after 90 seconds and share their health pool.

Devastating Combo: Jan-xi and Qin-xi perform a devastating combination of five attacks.

In Heroic Difficulty, the Devastating Combo consists of ten attacks.

Devastating Arc: Jan-xi and Qin-xi strike a 25 yard hemispherical area to the left, right, or in front of them. These Devastating Arc attacks inflict 100000 Physical damage and reduce the target's armor by 10% for 30 sec. Stacks up to $116835U times. The immense power of these attacks ignore any player effects that grant damage immunity.

Stomp: Jan-xi and Qin-xi stomp the ground, inflicting 100000 Physical damage to all players within 12 yards and stunning them for 2 sec. The immense power of this attack ignores player effects that grant damage immunity.

Magnetic Armor: Jan-xi and Qin-xi magnetize their current targets for 10 sec. If a magnetized player moves more than 16 yards away from the constructs, a strong magnetic force pulls them back.

Opportunistic Strike: If every player avoids all the attacks in a Devastating Combo, Jan-xi or Qin-xi becomes unbalanced. All players within 16 yards gain the Opportunistic Strike ability for 3 sec, which inflicts 1000000 Physical damage.

Titan Spark: When any construct dies, it releases a Titan Spark.

Focused Energy: A newly created Titan Spark fixates on a player, attacking only that player until the player dies or the Spark can no longer attack them.

Energy of Creation: When a Titan Spark dies or reaches its target, it releases the Energy of Creation. The Energy inflicts 750000 Nature damage to all players within 8 yards and energizes any constructs, increasing their attack speed by 50% for 2 min. This effect stacks.

The Sha of Fear has corrupted the grand empress of the mantid. Her increasingly erratic and paranoid commands have driven the Klaxxi--the keepers of mantid culture--to take aggressive action. Because they are few in number, the Klaxxi are reluctantly willing to accept outside help in destroying the empress and purging their race of the sha's negative influence.

Imperial Vizier Zor'lok

Zor'lok shrieks his proclamations so they're heard throughout the sprawling mantid palace. He is the Voice of the Empress, and his words alone inspire the insectoid race's warriors to give their lives without question. Unwaveringly loyal, Zor'lok will stop at nothing to defend his beloved matriarch, regardless of the corruption within her.

Inhale: Imperial Vizier Zor'lok takes a large breath to fill his lungs. Inhale increases the damage of Exhale by 100% for each stack present and lasts until Exhale triggers with 3 or more stacks.

Exhale: Imperial Vizier Zor'lok selects a random player and screams at them, inflicting Physical damage and stunning them for 6 sec. The first player between Imperial Vizier Zor'lok and the initial target suffers additional Physical damage every 0.5 seconds.

Exhale: Imperial Vizier Zor'lok selects a random player and screams at them, inflicting Physical damage for 6 sec. The first player between Imperial Vizier Zor'lok and the initial target suffers additional Physical damage every 0.5 seconds.

Stage One: Her Gifts are Many:Imperial Vizier Zor'lok flies to a random platform in the room, then attacks the players from there. When Zor'lok loses 20% of his total health, he changes positions to a different platform. Imperial Vizier Zor'lok gains one ability while at each platform, but loses that ability when he moves to a different platform.

Pheromones of Zeal: The lower section of Imperial Vizier Zor'lok's chamber fills with toxic Pheromones of Zeal. Players in the area suffer 28500 damage per second and are silenced for as long as they are in the area of effect.

Attenuation: Imperial Vizier Zor'lok emits a dizzying series of sonic rings that travel outward from him in a spiraling pattern. Sonic rings inflict 323750 to 376250 Physical damage to all targets in their path.

In 10 player Heroic Difficulty, Attenuation also sends out Sonic Pulses. Sonic Pulses inflict 370000 to 430000 Physical damage to all targets in their path.

In 25 player Heroic Difficulty, Attenuation also sends out Sonic Pulses. Sonic Pulses inflict 370000 to 430000 Physical damage to all targets in their path.

Force and Verve: Imperial Vizier Zor'lok shouts with pure volume to inflict 115625 to 134375 physical damage to all players every 1.5 seconds for 10 sec.Players standing in Noise Cancelling zones suffer 40% less damage from this ability.

Noise Cancelling: Before Imperial Vizier Zor'lok begins channeling Force and Verve, he summons Noise Cancelling zones nearby. Standing in these zones reduces the damage of Force and Verve by 40%.

In 10 player Difficulty, only four players can benefit from each Noise Cancelling zone at a time.

In 25 player Difficulty, only nine players can benefit from each Noise Cancelling zone at a time.

In 10 player Heroic Difficulty, only three players can benefit from each Noise Cancelling zone at a time.

In 25 player Heroic Difficulty, only seven players can benefit from each Noise Cancelling zone at a time.

Convert: Imperial Vizier Zor'lok uses the pure voice of the Empress to sway the allegiance of one player at random, causing them to fight for the Mantid Empire. Convert lasts until the victim reaches 50% health.

Convert: Imperial Vizier Zor'lok uses the pure voice of the Empress to sway the allegiance of two players at random, causing them to fight for the Mantid Empire. Convert lasts until the victim reaches 50% health.

Stage Two: We Will Not Disappoint Her:When Imperial Vizier Zor'lok reaches 40% remaining health, he flies to the center of the chamber and inhales the Pheromones of Zeal. Imperial Vizier Zor'lok now uses all of his abilities from Stage One.

Inhale Pheromones: Imperial Vizier Zor'lok inhales all of the Pheromones in the chamber, increasing his damage by 10% and haste by 20%.

Song of the Empress:Whenever Imperial Vizier Zor'lok finishes a transition he will raise his voice in praise to the empress. Failing to engage Imperial Vizier Zor'lok in melee combat will result in him inflicting Physical damage to all players in the zone until they die. Engaging Imperial Vizier Zor'lok in melee combat will end this effect.

Echoes of Power:In Heroic difficulty, Imperial Vizier Zor'lok will leave copies of himself behind at the first two platforms he visits. During stage two of the encounter he will randomly summon Echoes of Power to aid him in battle.Echoes of Power inherit one of Imperial Vizier Zor'lok's abilities and will continue to use that power until they are defeated.

Echo of Attenuation: Echo of Attenuation will use Zor'lok's Attenuation ability as well as fight players in melee combat.

Echo of Force and Verve: Echo of Attenuation will use Zor'lok's Force and Verve ability as well as fight players in melee combat.

Song of the Empress: Any echoes that Imperial Vizier Zor'lok has summoned will use the Song of the Empress any time they are not actively using one of their abilities and they are not engaged in melee combat. As with Imperial Vizier Zor'lok engaging the echoes in melee combat will end this effect.

Blade Lord Ta'yak

Ta'yak is known for his patience and intelligence. In battle, he is a master at discovering his opponent's weaknesses and awaiting the perfect opportunity to strike. Ta'yak's skill with a blade is unmatched, and he cherishes imparting his martial knowledge on young mantid warriors.

Unseen Strike: Blade Lord Ta'yak fixes his eyes on a random player and then disappears. He reappears 5 sec. later and inflicts 6000000 Physical damage split amongst all players in a 15 yard long cone in front of him.

Wind Step: Blade Lord Ta'yak teleports to random player and inflicts a quick strike. The blow causes all targets within 8 yards to bleed for 160000 Physical damage every 3 sec. for 30 sec.

Intensify: Blade Lord Ta'yak's fury intensifies during the encounter. Every 60 sec. Ta'yak increases his damage dealt by 5% and his haste by 5%. This effect stacks.

Overwhelming Assault: Blade Lord Ta'yak performs an overwheming attack on his current target, inflicting 200% of a normal melee swing's attack. The attack leaves the target's defenses exposed, increasing the target's damage taken when an Overwhelming Assault lands by 100% for 45 sec.

Storm Unleashed: Upon reaching 20% health Blade Lord Ta'yak traps all of the players within a mass of tornados, moving them to one end of the hall. The constant buffeting of the powerful winds on every player inflicts 15200 to 16800 Nature damage every 1 sec. This damage increases with Ta'yak's current Intensity level.Ta'yak then assumes position at the opposite end of the hall, then unleashes a barrage of tornados towards the players. Tornados that pass over players carry the player away from Ta'yak.

Furious Swipe: Garalon performs a Furious Swipe to targets in a large cone in front of him, inflicting 800000 Physical damage. If Garalon fails to hit at least 2 targets with his Furious Swipe, he gains Fury.

Crush: Garalon crushes his foes, inflicting 100000 Physical damage to all players. Any player within 12 yards receives an additional 800000 Physical damage as Garalon's body slams down upon them. Garalon's massive bulk also knocks down all players for 2 sec. Garalon crushes foes whenever he detects their presence beneath him.

In Normal Difficulty, Garalon also crushes foes when Pheromones passes to a new target.

In Heroic Difficulty, Garalon periodically crushes foes.

Pheromones: Garalon surrounds a player with powerful pheromones, fixating on the target. Every 2 sec. the Pheromones inflict 20000 Nature damage and Pungency on the target, then spawn a Pheromone Trail.Pheromones pass to allies in close proximity.

Pheromones: While Garalon has the Damaged effect, Garalon ignores the fixate effects of Pheromones.

Melee Attack: While Garalon has the Damaged effect, Garalon uses his normal melee attack and gains a dramatic speed increase.

Wind Lord Mel'jarak

Wind Lord Mel'jarak commands the mantid's numerous aerial forces. Although he exudes arrogance, the cunning insectoid is fiercely protective of his soldiers and enjoys fighting at their side. Mel'jarak believes the mantid are superior to all other races, convinced that his kind cannot be defeated.

Whirling Blade: Wind Lord Mel'jarak hurls his blade at a random player's location, inflicting 100000 Physical damage to all players in the blade's path. After the blade reaches its destination, it returns to Wind Lord Mel'jarak. The blade also inflicts 100000 Physical damage to all players in its return path.

Watchful Eye: Wind Lord Mel'jarak watches over his swarm, dispelling all forms of crowd control from every warrior if he ever senses that players are incapacitating more than four.When one group of Wind Lord Mel'jarak's swarm falls, he becomes more watchful. He now dispels all forms of crowd control from every warrior if he ever senses players are incapacitating more than two.When a second group of Wind Lord Mel'jarak's swarm falls, he becomes even more watchful, dispelling all forms of crowd control from every warrior if he ever senses players are incapacitating any.

In Heroic Difficulty, Wind Lord Mel'jarak does not become more watchful and only dispels crowd control effects if players incapacitate more than four warriors.

Reinforcements: When a group of Wind Lord Mel'jarak's swarm falls, he calls for a new group of warriors to replace them. He calls for these reinforcements 45 seconds after a group falls.

Recklessness: When Wind Lord Mel'jarak sees a group of his warriors fall in battle, he becomes reckless for the remainder of the fight. This increases his damage dealt and taken by 50%. This effect stacks.

Recklessness: When Wind Lord Mel'jarak sees a group of his warriors fall in battle, he becomes reckless for 30 sec. This increases his damage dealt by 100% and his damage taken by 600%.

The Swarm:Wind Lord Mel'jarak fights alongside his most trusted warriors.

Fate of the Swarm: Each group of Mel'jarak's swarm shares health with their fellow swarm members.

Impaling Spear: Up to four players can use the weapon racks left by the Mantid army to gain the Impaling Spear ability.Impaling Spear stuns a target for 50 sec. Any damage dealt directly to the target by a player causes the target to break free.

Sra'thik Amber-Trapper:

Amber Prison: Sra'thik Amber-Trappers imprison a random player and their allies within 2.5 yards in amber, stunning them until freed.Players can smash an Amber Prison and free the imprisoned allies inside by interacting with it. Residue afflicts players who destroy Amber Prisons.

Residue: Residue prevents a player from destroying Amber Prisons for 45 sec.

Corrosive Resin: Sra'thik Amber-Trappers cover a player in 5 stacks of Corrosive Resin for 30 sec, inflicting 30000 Nature damage every second per stack. Moving while afflicted by Corrosive Resin removes a stack of Corrosive Resin and creates a Corrosive Resin Pool at the player's location.

Corrosive Resin Pool: Corrosive Resin Pools inflict 70000 Nature damage every second to all players within the pool.

Zar'thik Battle-Mender:

Mending: Zar'thik Battle-Menders mend their allies, healing a group of the swarm for 25% of their maximum health.

Kor'thik Strike: Kor'thik Elite Blademasters focus a single player and strike them in unison, each inflicting 160000 Physical damage.

Amber-Shaper Un'sok

Eager to please his empress, Un'sok has produced several innovative concoctions. Yet this brilliant young alchemist's proximity to the mantid queen has allowed the sha's negative energies to take root in his mind. Now, Un'sok's overwhelming fear of failure drives him to create increasingly deadlier weapons.

Amber Scalpel: Un'sok carves the ground with a focused beam of pure amber energy. The beam inflicts 19000 to 21000 Nature damage every 0.25 sec. at the point of contact, and leaves behind Molten Amber residue. The residue inflicts 25437 to 29562 Fire damage every 1 sec. to players who touch it. Some of this residue congeals into Living Amber oozes.

Living Amber: Each of these animated amber oozes focuses mindlessly on a random player, emanating a Corrosive Aura that inflicts 1520 to 1680 Nature damage every 2 sec to all players. Each ooze Bursts in a shower of amber when destroyed, inficting 40950 to 50050 Nature damage to enemies within 8 yards and healing any other Living Amber within that radius for 0% of their maximum health.

In Heroic difficulty, dissolved Living Amber will reconstitute after 30 seconds.

In Looking for Raid difficulty, destroying a Living Amber does not heal other nearby Living Amber.

Burning Amber: When a Living Amber is destroyed, it dissolves into a pool that deals 28675 to 33325 Fire damage every 1 sec to all enemies within 3 yards.

Parasitic Growth: Amber-Shaper Un'sok causes amber to grow within the body of a random target, inflicting 16250 Nature damage every 2 sec. This strain of amber absorbs healing energy, increasing the damage it inflicts to its host in direct proportion to any healing received. After 30 sec, the unstable parasite dissipates without a trace.

Reshape Life: Un'sok unleashes a torrent of amber at a player, transforming the target into a misshapen mass of flowing amber that is hostile to players and monsters alike.

Mutated Construct: While transformed, the player continuously expends Willpower to retain control over the twisted form, at the rate of 2 per second, beginning with a maximum of 100. When Willpower runs out, the player dies and the Mutated Construct continues to act, uncontrolled.

Amber Explosion: The amber encircling the mutated player compels the unleashing of a massive explosion, inflicting 120000 Nature damage to all players.

Amber Strike: The construct inflicts 237500 to 262500 Nature damage to the current hostile target and interrupts normal spellcasting, including attempts by other constructs, or by the Amber Monstrosity, to trigger an Amber Explosion. Amber Strike also destabilizes the target, increasing damage taken by 10% for 12 sec. This effect stacks.

Break Free: Once the physical form of the amber construct has been damaged to 20% of its remaining health, the player can break free with a great surge of will. The player then regains their natural form.

Consume Amber: A transformed player consumes a pool of Burning Amber left behind by a defeated Living Amber. The consumption restores 20 Willpower, but also bolsters the mutated form, increasing its current and maximum health by 4500000.

Struggle for Control: With a surge of will, the player expends 8 Willpower to force the mutated form to cease all action for 0 sec. This also increases the mutated form's damage taken by 100% for 5 sec.

Smash: Transformed players use this simple melee attack in lieu of their normal attack, inflicting 34000 to 46000 Physical damage to a target.

Destroy Will: When Un'sok deals melee damage to player who was transformed into a Mutated Construct, his control over amber causes the target's will to unravel, draining 40 Willpower.

Amber Monstrosity: Un'sok formed this towering behemoth entirely of flowing amber, and it stands as a triumph of Un'sok's research into creating life from the mantids' amber.

Amber Explosion: The Monstrosity releases a massive explosion of amber energy, inflicting 136500 to 143500 Nature damage to all players.

Massive Stomp: The Monstrosity stomps the ground forcefully, inflicting 90187 to 104812 Physical damage to all enemies within 15 yards and knocking them back.

Fling: The Monstrosity grabs its current target in one of its massive hands and hurls the hapless victim at a distant player, causing 75156 to 87343 Physical damage to targets within 0 yards of the point of impact and stunning them for 3 sec.

Destroy Will: When the Amber Monstrosity deals melee damage to player who was transformed into a Mutated Construct, its attunement to amber causes the target's will to unravel, draining 40 Willpower.

Amber Carapace: While the Amber Monstrosity lives, an Amber Carapace shields Amber-Shaper Un'sok. The Carapace reduces his damage taken by 99%.

Stage Three: Un'sok Unleashed:Upon witnessing the destruction of his greatest creation, Un'sok channels power from the amber pools lining his chamber and prepares to make his final stand. Un'sok no longer uses Amber Scalpel, but now casts Reshape Life with greatly increased frequency.

Concentrated Mutation: Un'sok draws massive amounts of amber energy into his body, increasing his damage dealt by 50% and attack speed by 50%.

Volatile Amber: Un'sok's siphoning agitates the pools of amber around the room, causing them to periodically emit bursts of amber that fly through the air at high velocity. Each amber burst inflicts 27056 to 31443 Nature damage to any player it strikes. If a missile strikes a player while they are transformed into a Mutated Construct, it heals them for 20% of their health.

Amber Globule: Un'sok causes two spheres of destructive amber to form from the pools at the edges of the room, each of which fixates on a random player. If an Amber Globule comes into contact with its primary target, it explodes, dealing 600000 Nature damage to all players within 30 yards. If two Amber Globules touch each other, their energies will neutralize and dissipate harmlessly.

Grand Empress Shek'zeer

The ancient Klaxxi order has come to a mournful decision: the tainted grand empress Shek'zeer must be deposed. Traditionally, mantid rulers are displaced in their old age by a carefully chosen successor. However, Shek'zeer's intended replacement is still too young and weak to unseat her, leaving the Klaxxi with no choice but to kill the current empress. If action is not taken against her soon, all of Pandaria may crumble before the mantid's ravenous swarms.

Dissonance Field: The Empress creates a dissonance field which disrupts the sound associated with magic. The dissonance field absorbs nearby magical effects until it runs out of resonance. Once its resonance depletes, the field erupts in a Sonic Discharge.Players casting magical effects near the dissonance field also deplete it of resonance.

Sonic Discharge: The Sonic Discharge inflicts 139425 to 146575 Physical damage to all players, deals more damage to those standing within the dissonance field at the time of detonation.

Eyes of the Empress: The Empress gazes deeply into the eyes of her current target, inflicting the target with the Eyes of the Empress effect. This effect stacks up to 5 times. The Empress charms and transforms a player into a Servant of the Empress if the effect reaches maximum stacks.

Servant of the Empress: A player transformed and charmed by the Empress into her servant inflicts 200% more damage and 200% more healing, has 300% increased health, and becomes immune to crowd control effects and snares.

Dread Screech: Grand Empress Shek'zeer lets loose a Dread Screech at two random players, inflicting 29250 to 30750 Physical damage to each player and their nearby allies within 5 yards.

In 25 Player raids, Shek'zeer looses a Dread Screech at five random players.

Cry of Terror: The Empress incites terror on a random player, causing them to inflict 29250 to 30750 Shadow damage to players every 2 sec.

Stage Two: The Empress Retreats!:When the Empress runs of out sha energy, she retreats to her chrysalis and calls for her royal guard.

Band of Valor: Members of the Empress' Royal Guard inflict 30% more damage for every other member of the Royal Guard within 8 yards.

Sonic Blade: The Set'thik Windblade slashes his current target with a sonic blade, dealing 150% weapon damage and interrupting spellcast.

Sticky Resin: The Set'thik Windblade coats the ground in a sticky resin which clings to players that pass through it, slowing their movement speed by 30% and inflicting 15000 Nature damage every 1 second. When resin comes into contact with other resin, it will slide off of the player and back onto the ground. Amassing enough amber resin into one area causes it to congeal and harden, forming an Amber Trap.

Amber Trap: Being encased in amber deals 5% of the encapsulated victim's health every 2 seconds.

Toxic Slime: The Kor'thik Reaver inflicts 63375 to 66625 Nature damage to players in a 0 yard cone in front of it.

Poison-Drenched Armor: The poison-drenched blades of the Kor'thik Reaver seeps into every pore of his current enemy target, causing them to erupt with a toxic substance. The fumes from this poison cause the attacks of nearby friendly players to occasionally deal additional 48750 to 51250 Nature damage.

Stage Three: Ultimate Corruption!:At 30% remaining health, the Sha of Fear breaks the Empress' chrysalis and imbues her with a profound corruption.

Eyes of the Empress: The Empress gazes deeply into the eyes of her current target, inflicting the target with the Eyes of the Empress effect. This effect stacks up to 5 times. The Empress charms and transforms a player into a Servant of the Empress if the effect reaches maximum stacks.

Servant of the Empress: A player transformed and charmed by the Empress into her servant inflicts 200% more damage and 200% more healing, has 300% increased health, and becomes immune to crowd control effects and snares.

In 25 Player raids, Shek'zeer emits Sha Energy at five random players.

Calamity: The Empress inflicts Shadow damage to each player equal to 50% of their current health.

Consuming Terror: The Empress unleashes a Consuming Terror in a 0 yard cone in front of her, inflicting 126750 to 133250 Shadow damage and fearing players within the cone for 8 sec.

Visions of Demise: The Empress inflicts on two random players a vision of the their own demise. The vision reveals itself to the player after 4 sec., and they then suffer in fear and inflict 22181 to 23318 Shadow damage every 1 sec. to all players within 8 yards for 20 sec.

Heart of Fear: The Empress unleashes a swirling heart of dark energy, which targets 3 random players and inflicts Shadow damage in their direction. If a player stands between the heart and a targeted player, then they take the damage instead of the target.

Shrouded in fog since the world was sundered more than ten thousand years ago, the ancient realm of Pandaria has remained unspoiled by war. Its lush forests and cloud-ringed mountains are home to a complex ecosystem of indigenous races and exotic creatures. It is the homeland of the enigmatic Pandaren, a race that celebrates life to the fullest even while under siege by an ancient menace.

Sha of Anger

The Sha of Anger, the physical manifestation of rage, has escaped from the Shado-pan Monastery in Kun-Lai Summit. Amid the brutal conflicts gripping Pandaria, the dark entity has grown ever more powerful. Recently, the sha has been seen wandering Kun-Lai, using negative energies to corrupt everything the being encounters.

Seethe: The Sha of Anger projects seething anger at his current target if no players stand within his melee attack range. Seethe inflicts 74000 to 86000 Shadow damage and increases Shadow damage taken by the player by 10% for 20 sec.

Endless Rage: The anger brought by the Alliance and Horde to Pandaria flows through the Sha of Anger, erupting forth as a shower of Sha energy. Each missile inflicts 92500 to 107500 Shadow damage to players within 3 yards of the impact point and summons forth an Ire and a cloud of Bitter Thoughts.

Ire: A manifestation of anger summoned by the Sha of Anger's Endless Rage.

Bitter Thoughts: The cloud of Bitter Thoughts prevents all players within 3 yards from either attacking or casting spells. The cloud persists for 1 min.

Aggressive Behavior: The affected player erupts with anger, causing the player and all allies within 5 yards to fall under the control of the Sha of Anger for 30 sec. Increases damage dealt by 200% and maximum health by 200%. Aggressive Behavior is removed if the player falls below 50% remaining health.

Stage Two: Unleashed Wrath:Upon reaching 100 rage, the Sha of Anger unleashes its wrath upon its enemies. This phase lasts until the Sha of Anger's rage reaches 0.

Salyis's Warband

The ruthless saurok roam Pandaria, stealing what they can and harassing the island's other inhabitants. The most infamous of these reptilian pillagers are Chief Salyis and his warband. For years, the saurok commander and his raiders have stormed through the Valley of the Four Winds atop Galleon, a colossal and well-armed mushan that is more a moving fortress than a simple mount.

Reins of the Crimson Pandaren Phoenix is the model used for the "Pandaren Phoenix" Challenge Mode mount reward, and it's now automatically learned by all players on beta. The animations seem a bit rushed so far, but it's always nice to see a new model instead of a reskinned mount. We recently datamined four colors of this mount model, which we've included below too: click on the images to view them in our 3D Model Viewer!

Lore made another raid preview video--this time it's on Tsulong, a cloud serpent! This fight has contrasting Day and Night phases, in which players alternate between damaging and healing Tsulong to free him from the Sha's corruption.

Legends speak of a spiraling, golden serpent that can sometimes be seen high in the sky, basking in the sunlight above the clouds. The few who claim to have observed it themselves say the creature is fiercely protective of the terrace.

Encounter Journal

The Night:Tsulong struggles at Night with the Sha's corrupting influence. Bringing Tsulong's remaining health to zero while at Night permanently destroys the Sha's influence over him. When he reaches 100 energy, he temporarily purges the Sha's influence and radiant sunlight turns Night into Day.

Dread Shadows: The Dread Shadows created by the Sha within Tsulong inflict 4875 to 5125 Shadow damage on all players and increases their Dread Shadows damage taken by 10%. This effect stacks.

Nightmares: The Sha within Tsulong projects Nightmares at the location of a random player. The Nightmares inflict 48750 to 51250 Shadow damage and fear players within 8 yards of the impact for 3 sec.

Shadow Breath: Tsulong expels out Sha energy in a 30 degree cone in front of him, inflicting 136500 to 143500 Shadow damage and increasing Shadow damage taken by 100% for 30 sec. This effect stacks.

Sunbeam: Tsulong's attempts to resist the Sha allow him to protect the players from Dread Shadows. Tsulong summons a Sunbeam onto the battlefield, and the Sunbeam grants immunity to Dread Shadows for players standing within the beam. The protected area of the Sunbeam shrinks over time as more players stand within it.

The Dark of Night: The Dark of Night appears at a random location and moves towards the nearest Sunbeam. The Dark of Night extinguishes a Sunbeam upon reaching it.

The Day:During the Day, Tsulong gains the upper hand over the Sha corruption. Players may heal and aid Tsulong during the Day, and bringing him to full health while in the Day permanently destroys the Sha's influence over him. When he reaches 100 energy, the Sha corrupts his emotions and Night descends upon the Terrace.

Embodied Terror: Embodied Terrors spawn as the Sha fights to control Tsulong. When players destroy an Embodied Terror, five Fright Spawns burst out.

Terrorize: The Embodied Terror casts Terrorize on both a random player and on Tsulong. The terror inflicts 10% of the player's current health as Shadow damage every 2 sec for 10 sec. Tsulong suffers 1% of his total health as Shadow damage every 1 sec. for 10 sec.

Unstable Bolt: The Unstable Sha unleashes shadowy energy at a random player, inflicting 48750 to 51250 Shadow damage on the target. The Unstable Bolt also damages the Unstable Sha for 10% of its maximum health.

Instability: If an Unstable Sha reaches Tsulong, it inflicts 2437500 to 2562500 Shadow damage on Tsulong and disappears.

Sun Breath: Tsulong breathes out solar energy in a 60-degree cone in front of him, inflicting 3900000 to 4100000 Nature damage to Sha within 0 yards and stunning them for 8 sec. The breath also places the Bathed in Light effect on players within its area.

Bathed in Light: The warmth of the Sun instantly restores 25% of a player's total mana and increases their healing done by 500% for 15 sec.

The Light of Day: The Light of Day appears at a random location. Interacting with The Light of Day restores mana every 1 sec. and increases healing done by 3000% for 30 sec. The amount of mana restored increases while the healing done decreases over the duration of the effect.

Click the cut for pictures of the Sha of Fear, Lei Shi, and Blade Lord Ta'yak, as well as recent blue posts!

There's been a lot of Mists of Pandaria raid testing lately and today we have two more previews for you: a video by Lore of Protectors of the Endless and screenshots of Elegon, a celestial dragon reminiscent of Algalon.

In today's news round up, there are even more Ghostcrawler posts on class balance that we've organized by class after the cut, clarifications on challenge mode gear scaling, and a large debate on the quality, difficulty, and quantity of available 4.3 content.

Video Preview: Protectors of the Endless

Learn all about the Protectors of the Endless with Lore's video taken from beta testing yesterday! This encounter requires players to kill three corrupted Jinyu bosses with different sets of abilities. We have the full Encounter Journal toggled below the video.

Encounter Journal

Protectors of the Endless

When the Sha of Fear invaded the Terrace of Endless Spring, three venerated jinyu protectors were corrupted, and they betrayed the other mortal sentinels, slaying them all. The twisted guardians have now turned their attention to any intruders who might interrupt the sha's attack on the area's last defenses.

Sha Corruption: Killing a member of the Protectors causes Sha Corruption to explode from their bodies and possess the remaining Protectors. Sha Corruption heals each Protector to their maximum health, increases their damage done by 25%, and grants them additional abilities.

Defiled Ground: Protector Kaolan uses this ability after gaining a single dose of Sha Corruption.Protector Kaolan desecrates the land beneath a player's location for the remainder of the fight, inflicting 100000 Shadow damage every second and increasing damage taken from Defiled Ground by 10% for 45 sec. This effect stacks.

Expel Corruption: Protector Kaolan uses this ability after gaining two doses of Sha Corruption.Protector Kaolan expels a mass of corruption at his location for the remainder of the fight, inflicting 100000 Shadow damage to all players within 30 yards every 3 seconds. The damage of Expelled Corruption decreases as a player stands farther away from the source of corruption.

Elder Regail:

Lightning Bolt: Elder Regail hurls a bolt of lightning at his current target, inflicting 92500 to 107500 Nature damage.

Lightning Prison: Elder Regail imprisons 2 players in a field of lightning and stuns them. The Lightning Prison causes each player to inflict 75000 Nature damage every second to all players within 7 yards.

In 25 player Difficulty, Elder Regail imprisons 5 players.

Lightning Storm: Elder Regail uses this ability after gaining a single dose of Sha Corruption.Elder Regail summons a Lightning Storm, creating several waves of lightning strikes. The first wave strikes at Elder Regail's location and then successive waves strike in a ring around him at 20, 40, 60 and 80 yards. Each strike inflicts 370000 to 430000 Nature damage to all players within 10 yards of Lightning Storm's impact.

Overwhelming Corruption: Elder Regail uses this ability after gaining two doses of Sha Corruption.Corruption overwhelms Elder Regail, inflicting 30000 Shadow damage to all players every 3 seconds and increases their damage taken from Overwhelming Corruption by 5%. This effect stacks.

Elder Asani:

Water Bolt: Elder Asani hurls a bolt of water at a random player's location, inflicting 87875 to 102125 Nature damage to all players within 3 yards of the targeted location.

Cleansing Waters: Elder Asani summons a globe of Cleansing Waters at a Protector's location. When the globe reaches the ground, it heals all targets within 3.5 yards for 5% of their total health every second. Targets also receive 50% additional healing from all sources for 30 sec.

Corrupted Waters: Elder Asanil uses this ability after gaining a single dose of Sha Corruption.Elder Asani summons a globe of Corrupted Water that empowers all Protectors, granting them 100% melee and casting speed until destroyed.

Overwhelming Corruption: Elder Asani uses this ability after gaining two doses of Sha Corruption.Corruption overwhelms Elder Asani, inflicting 30000 Shadow damage to all players every 3 seconds and increases their damage taken from Overwhelming Corruption by 5%. This effect stacks.

Minion of Fear:Minions of Fear pour from the Terrace of Endless Spring, pursuing the Protector with the lowest remaining health.

Corrupted Essence: When a Minion of Fear dies, it infects the 2 closest players with Corrupted Essence, increasing their damage done by 10% for 2 min. This effect stacks up to $118191U times.If Corrupted Essence ever reaches $118191U stacks, the player replaces the Corrupted Essence effect with the Essence of Fear.

Essence of Fear: The Essence of Fear inflicts 250000 Shadow damage to all players within 30 yards.

Greater Corrupted Essence: When a Minion of Fear reaches a Protector, it fills them with Greater Corrupted Essence, increasing their damage done by 10% for 2 min. This effect stacks up to $117905U times.If Greater Corrupted Essence ever reaches $117905U stacks, the Protector replaces the Greater Corrupted Essence effect with the Greater Essence of Fear.

Greater Essence of Fear: The Greater Essence of Fear inflicts 500000 Shadow damage to all players and horrifies them for 3 sec.

Raid Preview: Elegon

We also have pictures from the Elegon encounter, open for testing earlier in the week. This boss has a celestial Titan theme similar to Algalon the Observer and looks just as stunning. As an added bonus, players transform into Celestial Form with Touch of the Titans!

We datamined the boss and celestial player models a few weeks back--click on the images to view them in our 3D modelviewer!

Encounter Journal

Elegon

Dedicated to the advancement of their empire, the mogu salvaged and repurposed titan technology to generate untold power in the depths of this ancient complex. Why these energies have been focused into the cold will of a celestial dragon is a mystery that lies at the very heart of the vaults.

Energy Vortex:An active Energy Vortex transforms any player or creature who stands in it, granting a small taste of the Titan's true power.

In Heroic Difficulty, the Energy Vortex prevents targeting into or out of the Energy Vortex.

Touch of the Titans: Contact with the Energy Vortex transforms the target into celestial form, increasing all damage done by 50% and healing done by 50%.

Overcharged: The Energy Vortex periodically inflicts players with Overcharge, causing them to take 5% additional damage. This effect stacks.

Stage One: Entering Defensive Mode:Elegon activates the Energy Vortex, attacking with Celestial Breath and calling for Celestial Protectors to help defend the Engine of Nalak'sha.Stage One ends at 90% and 50% remaining health.

Materialize Protector: When Elegon has more than 50% remaining health, he summons a Celestial Protector to attack the players.

Celestial Protector: A construct of pure energy, the Celestial Protector serves as primary defense for the Engine of Nalak'sha.

Phasing: The Celestial Protector exists in a state of flux, held together by the immense power of the Energy Vortex. When the Protector has over 25% remaining health and exists outside the bounds of the Energy Vortex, players inflict 90% less damage to it.

Arcing Energy: The Celestial Protector inflicts 76000 to 84000 Arcane damage to two random players and applies Closed Circuit to each target.

Closed Circuit: After being hit by the Arcing Energy, the Closed Circuit reduces the healing received by the target by 50% for 20 sec.

Stage Two: Primary Power Offline:Elegon attempts to reactivate the Engine of Nalak'sha by creating Energy Charges to energize the Empyreal Focuses. If players destroy all Energy Charges in a wave, Elegon will continue to create more Energy Charges. The creation process permanently weakens his physical form.Stage Two ends once an Energy Charge leaves the Energy Vortex.

Draw Power: Elegon attempts to restart the Engine of Nalak'sha by constructing six Energy Charges from his own body, permanently increasing all damage taken by 10%. This effect stacks.

Energy Charge: A small part of Elegon himself, the Energy Charge contains enough Arcane energy to restart The Engine of Nalak'sha.

High Energy: With each successive cast of Draw Power, the created Energy Charge gains an additional 20% movement speed. This effect stacks.

Discharge: Upon reaching zero health, the Energy Charge explodes and inflicts 585000 to 615000 Arcane damage to all players.

Stage Three: Power Draw Stable:Elegon has reactivated The Engine of Nalak'sha, disabling the Energy Vortex and activating all Empyreal Focuses. Elegon shields himself from all damage.Stage Three ends once players destroy all the Empyreal Focuses.

Empyreal Focus: The Focuses activate whenever the Engine of Nalak'sha begins operation, venting energy into the surrounding platform. Damaging all six Empyreal Focuses temporarily disables the Engine of Nalak'sha.

In today's news round up, we've got visual previews of the Mogu and Mantid raid bosses open for testing on beta! We also have the corresponding Encounter Journals toggled for all featured bosses.

As far as blue posts, Ghostcrawler has answered many more questions on the Beta Class Balance Analysis thread, which we've organized by topic, as well as clarified PvP Power. Blizzard also announced the release of the latest Warcraft book, Tides of War, which focuses on Jaina Proudmoore, and did a summer spotlight on Blackrock Mountain.

Imperial Vizier Zor'lok

Zor'lok shrieks his proclamations so they're heard throughout the sprawling mantid palace. He is the Voice of the Empress, and his words alone inspire the insectoid race's warriors to give their lives without question. Unwaveringly loyal, Zor'lok will stop at nothing to defend his beloved matriarch, regardless of the corruption within her.

Encounter Journal

Inhale: Imperial Vizier Zor'lok takes a large breath to fill his lungs. Inhale increases the damage of Exhale by 100% for each stack present and lasts until Exhale triggers with 3 or more stacks.

Exhale: Imperial Vizier Zor'lok selects a random player and screams at them, inflicting Physical damage and stunning them for 6 sec. The first player between Imperial Vizier Zor'lok and the initial target suffers additional Physical damage every 0.5 seconds.

Exhale: Imperial Vizier Zor'lok selects a random player and screams at them, inflicting Physical damage for 6 sec. The first player between Imperial Vizier Zor'lok and the initial target suffers additional Physical damage every 0.5 seconds.

Stage One: Her Gifts are Many:Imperial Vizier Zor'lok flies to a random platform in the room, then attacks the players from there. When Zor'lok loses 20% of his total health, he changes positions to a different platform. Imperial Vizier Zor'lok gains one ability while at each platform, but loses that ability when he moves to a different platform.

Pheromones of Zeal: The lower section of Imperial Vizier Zor'lok's chamber fills with toxic Pheromones of Zeal. Players in the area suffer 28500 damage per second and are silenced for as long as they are in the area of effect.

Attenuation: Imperial Vizier Zor'lok emits a dizzying series of sonic rings that travel outward from him in a spiraling pattern. Sonic rings inflict 74000 to 86000 Physical damage to all targets in their path.

In 10 player Heroic Difficulty, Attenuation also sends out Sonic Pulses. Sonic Pulses inflict 138750 to 161250 Physical damage to all targets in their path.

In 25 player Heroic Difficulty, Attenuation also sends out Sonic Pulses. Sonic Pulses inflict 138750 to 161250 Physical damage to all targets in their path.

Force and Verve: Imperial Vizier Zor'lok shouts with pure volume to inflict 41625 to 48375 physical damage to all players every 1.5 seconds for 10 sec.Players standing in Noise Cancelling zones suffer 40% less damage from this ability.

Noise Cancelling: Before Imperial Vizier Zor'lok begins channeling Force and Verve, he summons Noise Cancelling zones nearby. Standing in these zones reduces the damage of Force and Verve by 40%.

In 10 player Difficulty, only four players can benefit from each Noise Cancelling zone at a time.

In 25 player Difficulty, only nine players can benefit from each Noise Cancelling zone at a time.

In 10 player Heroic Difficulty, only three players can benefit from each Noise Cancelling zone at a time.

In 25 player Heroic Difficulty, only four players can benefit from each Noise Cancelling zone at a time.

Convert: Imperial Vizier Zor'lok uses the pure voice of the Empress to sway the allegiance of one player, causing them to fight for the Mantid Empire. Convert lasts until the victim reaches 50% health, but the effect may end whenever the victim suffers spell damage. The chance to break increases as the victim reaches 50% remaining health.

Stage Two: We Will Not Disappoint Her:When Imperial Vizier Zor'lok reaches 40% remaining health, he flies to the center of the chamber and inhales the Pheromones of Zeal. Imperial Vizier Zor'lok now uses all of his abilities from Stage One.

Inhale Pheromones: Imperial Vizier Zor'lok inhales all of the Pheromones in the chamber, increasing his damage by 10% and haste by 20%.

Song of the Empress:Whenever Imperial Vizier Zor'lok finishes a transition he will raise his voice in praise to the empress. Failing to engage Imperial Vizier Zor'lok in melee combat will result in him inflicting Physical damage to all players in the zone until they die. Engaging Imperial Vizier Zor'lok in melee combat will end this effect.

Echoes of Power:In Heroic difficulty, Imperial Vizier Zor'lok will leave copies of himself behind at the first two platforms he visits. During stage two of the encounter he will randomly summon Echoes of Power to aid him in battle.Echoes of Power inherit one of Imperial Vizier Zor'lok's abilities and will conintue to use that power until they are defeated.

Echo of Attenuation: Echo of Attenuation will use Zor'lok's Attenuation ability as well as fight players in melee combat.

Echo of Force and Verve: Echo of Attenuation will use Zor'lok's Force and Verve ability as well as fight players in melee combat.

Song of the Empress: Any echoes that Imperial Vizier Zor'lok has summoned will use the Song of the Empress any time they are not actively using one of their abilities and they are not engaged in melee combat. As with Imperial Vizier Zor'lok engaging the echoes in melee combat will end this effect.

Will of the Emperor

The core chamber of the vaults is protected by stone soldiers who have been motionless for centuries. They are row upon row of warriors, statues armed for a battle that never began. What treasures do they guard? And what is their tie to the titanic power buried with them here in the shadows?

Emperor's Rage: The smallest Terracotta warriors, the Emperor's Rage strike quickly with dual axes and often formed the forward lines in Lei Shin's mechanical armies.

Focused Assault: Every Emperor's Rage fixates on a random player, attacking only that player until the player dies or the Rage can no longer attack them.

Unarmored: The Emperor's Rage wear very little armor, and all types of crowd control effects work against them.

Emperor's Courage: The Emperor's Courage carry a polearm to harry opponents and form a powerful defensive wall with shields and armor.

Focused Defense: The Emperor's Courage comes to the aid of Jan-xi or Qin-xi by fixating on a tank, attacking only that player until the player dies or the Courage can no longer attack them.

Impeding Thrust: The Impeding Thrust of the Emperor's Courage inflicts 150% normal melee damage and reduces the target's movement speed by 25% for 10 sec. Stacks up to $117485U times.

Half Plate: The Emperor's Courage wear armor protecting the front of their bodies. The Half Plate blocks or deflects any damage dealt by players to the front of the Emperor's Courage, but they remain susceptible to movement impairing effects.

Energizing Smash: The Emperor's Strength smash the ground in front of them, inflicting 200000 Physical damage to players within 10 yards of the strike zone and stunning them for 2 sec. The radius of the effect increases by 1 yard after each use of Energizing Smash.

Full Plate: The Emperor's Strength wear heavy armor that grants them immunity to all crowd control effects.

Jan-xi and Qin-xi:Jan-xi and Qin-xi activate after 90 seconds and share their health pool.

Devastating Combo: Jan-xi and Qin-xi perform a devastating combination of five attacks.

In Heroic Difficulty, the Devastating Combo consists of ten attacks.

Devastating Arc: Jan-xi and Qin-xi strikes a 25 yard hemispherical area to the left, right, or in front them. These Devastating Arc attacks inflict 100000 Physical damage and reduce the target's armor by 10% for 30 sec. Stacks up to $116835U times. The immense power of these attacks ignore any player effects that grant damage immunity.

Stomp: Jan-xi and Qin-xi stomps the ground, inflicting 100000 Physical damage to all players within 12 yards and stunning them for 2 sec. The immense power of this attack ignores player effects that grant damage immunity.

Magnetic Armor: Jan-xi and Qin-xi magnetizes their current targets for 10 sec. If a magnetized player moves more than 16 yards away from the constructs, a strong magnetic force pulls them back.

Opportunistic Strike: If every player avoids all the attacks in a Devastating Combo, Jan-xi or Qin-xi becomes unbalanced. All players within 16 yards gain the Opportunistic Strike ability for 3 sec, which inflicts 1000000 Physical damage.

Titan Spark: When any construct dies, it releases a Titan Spark.

Focused Energy: A newly created Titan Spark fixates on a player, attacking only that player until the player dies or the Spark can no longer attack them.

Energy of Creation: When a Titan Spark dies or reaches its target, it releases the Energy of Creation. The Energy inflicts 750000 Nature damage to all players within 8 yards and energizes any constructs, increasing their attack speed by 50% for 2 min. This effect stacks.

In today's news round up, Blizzard confirmed that UI addons will be enabled in the next beta build, and that many expensive and multi-seat mounts like Reins of the Traveler's Tundra Mammoth will be account-wide in Mists of Pandaria--great news for players that purchased mounts and then switched mains! We also have some new posts from Ghostcrawler from the Beta Class Balance Analysis thread, this time on Moonkins, Hunters, and Ignite-like mechanics, as well as a preview of the new TCG set.

In addition, we have a preview of the Mogu'Shan Vaults raid testing from June 25th, as well as the Encounter Journal. If you're interested in trying out these raids, you'll have to level up to 90 yourself instead of waiting for premades--Blizzard stated yesterday that they won't be available anytime soon. There are two more bosses scheduled for testing today as well.

Raid Testing

On June 25th, both Gara'jal the Spiritbinder and The Spirit Kings were open for testing in Mogu'shan Vaults. We were able to test The Spirit Kings and have the the full Encounter Journal for both bosses in 10-player mode (with some heroic abilities) under the cut.

The Spirit Kings is a council-style boss, with four Mogu enemies. You fight them one at a time, but defeated council members in Weakened States will still cast their signature abilities--so by the end, the raid could deal with 4 unique abilities at once. Leading up to the encounter is a series of spectral Mogu packs for trash, with Lorewalker Cho talking about the legendary stories behind each Emperor.

Meng Sharpfang: A Mad King who casts Maddening Shout, causing all players to turn hostile and attack each other until they take 10000 damage.

Sebotai Swiftfoot: A great thief who pins players with Rain of Arrows and casts Pillage--players affected by the whirlwind will have reduced damage and healing, plus their character will appear naked for the duration.

Gara'jal the Spiritbinder is the leader of the Zandalari trolls. Players fight him in the normal realm and the Spirit Realm, reached with Cross Over. Players can only stay in the Spirit Realm for 30 seconds (returning with the debuff Frail Soul), but must kill the Shadowy Minions below that attack players above with Spiritual Grasp. Gara'jal will also periodically cast Voodoo Dolls, hexing the player and then banishing them to the Spirit Realm, where they must fight Severer of Souls or die.

Upon defeating the previous bosses, the remaining empty part of the dungeon opened up--it looked really striking!

Blizzard

World of Warcraft®: Mists of Pandaria™March 2012 Media Event FAQ

Q: What is World of Warcraft®: Mists of Pandaria™?

Escalating tensions between the Alliance and Horde have broken out into open warfare. The roar of cannons blacken the sky while naval engagements around the globe fill the seas with blood. As the clash of mortal armies spins the world into chaos, a continent -- once shielded by impenetrable mists -- suddenly manifests itself in the southern oceans. There’s no question that this resource-rich new land will be at the center of a global conflict. Will the Mists of Pandaria part to reveal Azeroth’s salvation? Or will this new battlefield become the flashpoint that pushes the Alliance and Horde over the brink into total annihilation?

Mists of Pandaria is the fourth expansion set to Blizzard Entertainment’s critically acclaimed massively multiplayer online role-playing game World of Warcraft. The new expansion opens up an exotic new land for heroes to explore and provides a wide variety of exciting new features and content that will give players even more ways to enjoy the game.

For info on the story and lore of Mists of Pandaria, including background on the pandaren race, key characters and factions, and the history of Pandaria, see the Lore & Story section later in this FAQ.

MISTS OF PANDARIA GAMEPLAY

Q: What are the features of World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria?

The new expansion introduces a wide variety of new features and systems, including a new continent, new race, new class, and more:

New Playable Race -- Pandaren: Decide whether to side with the Alliance or the Horde as World of Warcraft’s first neutral playable race, and explore their unique starting zone: the Wandering Isle.

New Playable Class -- Monk: Unlock the secrets of pandaren martial arts and do battle as a damage dealer, healer, or tank.

New Continent: Explore the lush Jade Forest, treacherous Kun-Lai Summit, and other exotic new zones of Pandaria designed for high-level characters.

Scenarios: Join up with some friends to achieve a common goal, such as mounting a defense against invading monsters, in a flexible new type of PvE challenge.

Dungeon “Challenge” Modes: Master the ultimate 5-player time trial and earn prestige rewards in a new dungeon mode that will put your resolve and coordination to the test.

Pet Battles: Challenge other players’ companion pets with your own collection in a new tactical mini-game. Level up your companions and discover pets in the wild to round out your roster.

Level Cap Increased to 90: Learn potent new spells and abilities while exploring uncharted zones and taking on challenging new content.

Q: What is the monk class? How does it differ from other classes in the game?

The monk is a martial arts expert who excels in close-quarters hand-to-hand combat, and can fill the role of a tank (Brewmaster), damage-dealer (Windwalker), or healer (Mistweaver), depending on a player’s chosen specialization. Monks build up energy through a combination of punches, kicks, and other basic martial arts moves, and then expend it to unleash powerful special moves, such as finishers or potent heals. As with most classes in the game with the exception of death knights, monks begin their journey at level 1.

Q: Which races can be a monk?

Since coming into contact with members of the Horde and the Alliance, several of Pandaria’s masters have begun to teach their new allies the secrets of their ancient martial arts. Currently, every race except goblin and worgen can learn the ways of the monk.

Q: At what point do pandaren characters choose which faction to side with?

Pandaren who strike out to explore the world outside their homeland begin their journey on the Wandering Isle (a new starting zone for pandaren characters level 1 to 10), where they face a number of trials -- and meet with a number of characters from both the Alliance and the Horde -- before arriving in Kalimdor or the Eastern Kingdoms. Pandaren remain neutral through most of their Wandering Isle quests, but before they leave, players will need to make a crucial decision whether to permanently side with the Alliance or the Horde. After that decision is made, the character will be treated just like any other member of their chosen faction in cities, on quests, and in character interactions. Choose wisely, because once your decision is made, it’s irreversible (except through the Faction Change service).

Q: Which classes are available to pandaren players?

Currently, pandaren can choose to be hunters, mages, priests, rogues, shaman, warriors, and -- of course -- monks. Pandaren are not able to become death knights, druids, paladins, or warlocks.

Q: What end-game content will be available for players at level 90?

One of our primary design goals for Mists of Pandaria is to give players a wider variety of content and different types of gameplay to enjoy once they reach maximum level, in addition to the Heroic dungeons, raids, and daily quests that they’re used to. To that end, we are introducing three major new features in the new expansion -- scenarios, challenge modes for 5-player dungeons, and companion pet battles -- and focusing on improving the end-game experience you’re familiar with.

Here’s just some of the content we’re working on for players to enjoy once they reach level 90:

A huge variety of daily quests to choose from, with dynamic stories that change and progress as you complete quest content over time

Multiple group-based scenarios that players can run in addition to dungeons to earn Valor Points and gear

9 dungeons, including six brand-new Pandaria dungeons with normal and Heroic modes, and three new Heroics based on the classic Scarlet Monastery and Scholomance dungeons

Challenge modes for the six new dungeons designed for players looking for the ultimate test of their dungeon-delving skills, complete with suitably epic transmogrifiable rewards

A variety of new factions to join forces with, offering unique gameplay mechanics and rewards

2 new Battlegrounds offering different styles of PvP gameplay and objectives, along with a new Arena

And more… Our goal is to deliver a huge variety of content for level-90 players to enjoy, at launch and beyond

Q: What are Scenarios?

Scenarios are a new type of PvE challenge designed for groups of as few as 3 or as many as 25 players, depending on what is appropriate for the content. Scenarios require players to band together to complete a specific goal. For example, you might be asked to help a pandaren brewmaster complete her masterwork brew in the midst of a lightning storm, and then escort her to a nearby temple against a howling rain and persistent assault. Once there, you’ll use the powers of her new brew to help defeat a boss and his minions.

Although there are no specific class requirements, players will need to work together to accomplish each scenario’s unique objectives. Scenarios will be instanced, and we’re designing them to take about 10 to 30 minutes each to complete. We’re also planning a “Scenario Finder” similar to the Dungeon Finder and Raid Finder that will make it easy for players to quickly find a group.

Q: What are Challenge Modes for 5-player dungeons?

Challenge mode is a new, advanced mode for 5-player dungeons designed for players looking for the ultimate test of coordination and skill. In challenge modes, players are tasked with trying to complete an existing 5-player dungeon as quickly and skillfully as possible. Depending on how well the group does, players will receive recognizable prestige rewards such as mounts, pets, titles, achievements, or special armor artwork that can be used with transmogrification to customize a character’s appearance. The inspiration for challenge modes comes from events such as the 45-minute Baron Rivendare runs in the original Stratholme dungeon, or the timed Zul’Aman dungeon run for the Amani War Bear.

We want challenge modes to be a test of player skill and not of player gear, and so the stats on all players’ armor and equipment will be normalized to a set level upon beginning a challenge. As a result, players will have the same chance at victory whether they are wearing quest rewards or Heroic-raid-level epic items. Regardless of equipment, challenge modes will remain just as challenging at the end of the expansion as they were at the beginning.

Q: What are companion pet battles?

In Mists of Pandaria, we’re adding a new tactical mini-game that allow players to pit their roster of companion pets against other players’ pets (or against special creatures you come across in the wild) in strategic, turn-based combat. Pets will level up as they earn combat experience, and each companion will have its own set of stats, such as attack and defense rating. As pets level up, players will be able to choose which abilities their pets will learn, each with its own tactical merits. During a pet battle, players will be able to swap companions out strategically depending on which pet they’re facing or what abilities might come in handy against a given foe.

Players will be able to hunt for approximately 100 wild pets across all of Azeroth, each with randomized stats and levels. Players can further customize their pets by giving them names. We’re also planning a number of other features, including a Pet Journal showing where and how to capture wild pets, pet-battle-specific achievements and stats, and a way to queue for PvP battles.

Pet battles are meant to be completely independent from your character’s main progression, and the rewards won’t offer additional advantages in regular PvP or PvE situations such as Battlegrounds or raids -- though they should help pass the time while you’re waiting for your group to recoup from a particularly nasty wipe.

Q: What’s in store for dungeons and raids?

Every raid in Mists of Pandaria will include three difficulty levels: normal (10- and 25-player), Heroic (10- and 25-player), and a specially tuned third mode accessible via the Raid Finder (25-player only) designed with pick-up groups in mind. We’re very happy with how many players have been able to experience the Dragon Soul (patch 4.3) raid content -- especially the climactic boss encounter with Deathwing -- following the release of the Raid Finder, and we’ll continue to provide higher difficulty levels for players looking for the most epic challenges and rewards.

At launch, we’re planning to have six brand-new dungeons (with normal and Heroic modes) as well as three new Heroic modes for classic dungeons, including two based on Scarlet Monastery and one based on Scholomance. We’re also planning three raids at launch featuring a host of sinister new villains and epic encounters with ancient evils that have been hiding in the mists for millennia.

Q: What are the new zones?

The continent of Pandaria will consist of seven enormous zones for players level 85 and above, and new pandaren players will begin their adventures in a unique starting zone separate from the pandaren homeland. Since our original unveiling of Mists of Pandaria at BlizzCon, we’ve added two additional zones for players to explore -- Krasarang Wilds and the Dread Wastes -- substantially increasing the continent’s size (we didn’t simply split up existing zones) and expanding the diversity of Pandaria’s already wild and varied landscape. Here’s the breakdown of the zones, along with their current working names:

The Jade Forest: High-level adventurers will make landfall in the lush Jade Forest, where they’ll meet some of Pandaria’s indigenous races, such as the fish-like jinyu and monkey-like hozen.

Valley of the Four Winds: Featuring rolling green hills and lush pandaren farmland, the Valley of the Four Winds is where travelers will find the legendary Stormstout Brewery.

Townlong Steppes: Here, a tremendous wall separates Pandaria’s verdant forests and plains from the desolate wasteland left in the wake of the ravenous, all-consuming mantid.

Krasarang Wilds: A dense strand of jungle occupying Pandaria’s southernmost shore, the Krasarang Wilds are home to lost ruins and a chain of dangerous islands.

Dread Wastes: The mantid homeland, now overrun by the Sha of Fear, has been corrupted into a horrifying wasteland of swamps and scorched earth. Players will have to fight their way into the lair of the mantid queen herself to rout out the source of the corruption.

Vale of Eternal Blossoms: This lush valley in the center of Pandaria hosts a secret power dating back to the time of the Titans. The city complex at its heart will be players’ home away from home, but max-level players will need to defend it against constantly changing daily threats.

The Wandering Isle: Pandaren adventurers looking to explore the world outside Pandaria begin their journey here, on a mysterious island that never seems to settle in the same place for too long.

Q: What changes are being made to the talent system?

We are making a couple of major changes to how class specializations and talents work in Mists of Pandaria. First, your specialization is now completely independent from your talent choices. When you reach level 10, you will still choose one of three specs (e.g. Discipline, Holy, or Shadow priest) to determine your role, play style, and which signature abilities your character has access to. In addition, you’ll receive more of your spec’s defining abilities as you level up.

Secondly, the talent system has been redesigned completely. At regular level intervals (at level 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, and 90), players will now be able to choose between one of three very powerful talents. All three specializations will have access to the same three talent options, and our goal is to make sure that these talent choices are appealing to all three specializations with no obvious “must-have” options for any of them. For example, level-15 warriors will be able to choose one of three movement-related talents: Juggernaut, which permanently lowers the cooldown of Charge; Double Time, which lets the warrior Charge twice before incurring a cooldown; or Warbringer, which knocks the target to the ground and stuns it following a Charge. Once you choose a talent in a specific tier, the other two talents are locked out from your talent build, even when you reach the next talent tier. We want players to be able to change their talent build independently of their specialization, and without visiting a class trainer. This new system is designed to provide players with hundreds of distinct and meaningful options for tailoring their character’s gameplay to their specific desires and situation.

If you want to get a feel for how the system will work, check out the Mists of Pandaria talent calculator on the official World of Warcraft website. There you can create a talent spec using the latest in-development talent trees for your favorite class.

Q: Why is the talent system going through an overhaul?

As with the talent-system redesign in Cataclysm, our goal is ultimately to give players more meaningful character-customization options and to eliminate “cookie-cutter” talent builds. We were only partially successful in realizing that goal in Cataclysm, as many talents still felt mandatory to a given specialization, and some talent choices in the trees were still not particularly interesting or exciting. By giving the benefits of the previously “mandatory” talents to players automatically as part of their specialization choice, and allowing any specialization to choose any given talent, we hope to be able to give players much more significant and interesting decisions to make about their character.

Q: Will players be allowed to fly in Pandaria?

Upon arrival in Pandaria, players will be restricted from flying until they reach a certain point in their quest progression. While the ability to fly is a great convenience for players once they have completed content, we can provide a much more enjoyable, rewarding, and varied questing experience if players are (mostly) grounded while the story of Pandaria unfolds.

MISTS OF PANDARIA LORE & STORY

Q: How will the story of Mists of Pandaria unfold?

Offering a unique change of pace from the globe-trotting chaos of Cataclysm, World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria focuses on the exploration and potential colonization of a single, massive new continent. The adventure will unfold over a number of stages:

Mists of Pandaria: The “out of the box” expansion experience focuses on the discovery and exploration of Pandaria. Both Horde and Alliance players will have to try to swing the locals to their side of the conflict… but their actions will bring unforeseen and disastrous consequences. Devastating “Sha” energy, a physical manifestation of negative emotions that has been locked away for thousands of years, is brought to the surface once war comes to Pandaria’s shores. The battle to win over the hearts and minds of the pandaren takes on a new urgency as the darkness of the Sha plunges the land into chaos. Among other things, Sha energy infects the ferocious mantid, triggering a horrific swarm. Meanwhile, Mogu warlords reconnect with their ancient Zandalari allies in an attempt to recapture their former imperial glory. Far from Alliance and Horde resupply, players must solve these local problems while learning about the enigmatic pandaren race… and a little about their own nature in the process.

The Pandaria Campaign: Beginning shortly after the release of Mists of Pandaria, a series of content updates will advance the story of the Alliance and Horde campaign on the new continent. The campaign will kick off when the fleets arrive and claim Pandaria’s southern shores, permanently altering the area. As King Varian Wrynn struggles to unite the Alliance for a meaningful counter-attack, Garrosh Hellscream will battle to turn the disparate parts of the Horde into a frenzied killing machine. Telling a complete story arc, the Pandaren Campaign will climax in a raid that will reset the balance of power in the world of Azeroth.

Q: Who are the pandaren?

The pandaren are an ancient, intelligent race who have been cut off from the world at large since the time of the great sundering that split apart the continents of Azeroth.

If a single trait could sum up the pandaren culture, it’s that they live in the moment. They embrace life with gusto. A pandaren does everything with vigor, focus, and intensity. Every meal is an event. Every moment with the family is cherished. Every project or work of art demands their full attention. Every nap is treated as if it will be the last! The pandaren work hard, play hard, fight like animals, love with all their soul, tell impossibly tall tales, drink like they mean it, and sleep like the dead.

On the whole, pandaren are slow to anger and prefer measured solutions to problems. But underneath all of that practiced civility, there is a bear to contend with. When a pandaren focuses on combat, each blow rings with the weight of his or her entire body. Living “in the moment” also means getting lost in the fury of combat; a pandaren monk in the midst of battle has fists like wrecking balls and a roar that can be heard from horizon to horizon.

However, it takes a great deal to get a pandaren wound up. On mainland Pandaria, negative emotions such as fear, anger, or despair can literally take on a physical form and stir up trouble. For this reason, pandaren emphasize and cultivate a quiet life of inner harmony and focus. Conflicts, no matter how bitter, are quickly forgotten over cold drinks once the matter is resolved. The pandaren sense of inner peace and love of life is infectious. Spend any significant time with a pandaren and you, too, can’t help but get lost in the moment.

Q: Why has Pandaria been hidden this whole time?

A veil of impenetrable mists has cloaked Pandaria since the time of the Sundering and the reign of the last pandaren emperor. Previously, ships entering the mists have lost their bearings and spun about aimlessly before returning to the open ocean. As for the pandaren, they looked out toward the mist-veiled seas and many presumed that the rest of the world had perished in the Sundering.

Sometime in the wake of the Cataclysm, the mists abruptly vanished. Alliance and Horde naval fleets, engaged in skirmishes around the world thanks to the new Warchief’s aggression, suddenly found a new continent where once charts showed open seas. With both factions escalating their feud into a global conflict, the war for Azeroth shifts in a new direction.

Why did the mists collapse at this crucial moment in world history? The answers revolve around the will of the last emperor, and lie at the heart of this strange new continent….

Q: What is the pandaren starting zone, the Wandering Isle?

Many generations ago, a particularly bold pandaren named Liu Lang set out to see what was beyond the mists by setting sail upon the back of a giant sea turtle. As the turtle grew, so did Liu Lang’s desire to explore the world. Others joined him, until eventually a whole colony of pandaren explorers travelled the ocean, living atop the expansive “Wandering Isle.” Although the Wandering Isle hasn’t made landfall in many years, those who live there are still ignited by the spirit of adventure. Chen Stormstout is a native of the Wandering Isle, as are any players who choose to create pandaren characters. They are a rare breed, on the whole far more adventurous than their land-locked and long-lost relatives on mainland Pandaria.

Q: Will all of the pandaren join the Horde or the Alliance?

Just as it’s comparatively rare for a pandaren to be struck with an urge to wander the world, it’s rarer still that one would feel compelled to align oneself with a faction such as the Horde or Alliance. Only those who are convinced these factions are the key to healing Azeroth would even consider pledging their allegiance to one faction or the other.

The decision to join a faction comes at great personal cost, as any fellow pandaren who join the opposite faction -- including friends or relatives -- will likely never be heard from again. Pandaren who choose to align themselves with the Alliance or Horde do so because of shared values and personal beliefs regarding their overall worldview and the best way to move forward after the Cataclysm.

Guiding the decision to join a faction are two competing pandaren disciplines that are prominent on the Wandering Isle. Those who follow the path of the Houjin are impulsive, quick to action, and practical. Houjin disciples feel that the ends can justify the means, and they may find like-minded compatriots in the Horde. In opposition, followers of the path of the Tushui are more contemplative, focused on abstract ideals of justice and morality. Students of Tushui believe that a principled life is the only one worth living, and may find that the stalwart Alliance aligns more closely with their beliefs.

Every pandaren player will need to make this difficult decision early on in their adventure. The vast majority of the pandaren population, however, will continue to follow the traditional path of isolationism and neutrality.

Q: Who are the pandaren leaders or figureheads for the Horde and Alliance?

After the climactic events on the Wandering Isle, two pandaren monks will travel with players to the rest of the world to spread the wisdom of the pandaren.

Aysa Cloudsinger is a follower of the path of Tushui. She believes in living a venerable life through meditation, rigorous training, and moral conviction. Described as graceful and poised, Aysa has attained impeccable form and a refined intellect through diligent practice. To Aysa, to follow the way of Tushui is to defend what is right above all else. She believes that success in any endeavor never justifies dishonorable deeds. While the Alliance contains a diverse mix of cultures, Aysa is attracted to the high ideals and values that cement the Alliance together.

Ji Firepaw, a follower of the more direct Houjin philosophy, is adamant that inaction is the greatest injustice. Ji holds that it’s honorable to defend home and family no matter the cost. Outgoing, passionate, and not one for deep thought, he is always the first into the fray. Ji finds himself attracted to the scrappy practicality that defines the Horde. Although it will cost him dearly, he will decide to carry the Horde banner when he leaves the Wandering Isle.

Q: Do the pandaren have a history of interaction with the Horde and Alliance?

Pandaren wanderers are very rare, but the deeds of a few are recorded in recent times. One brave soul that spirited his way into the annals of Azerothian history was the brewmaster Chen Stormstout. Warcraft III players may recall his chance meeting with Rexxar in the game’s bonus missions, where he worked together with Thrall to found the new orcish homeland in Durotar. Later, he accompanied heroes such as Vol’jin and Jaina Proudmoore to liberate Theramore and protect the fledgling Horde from annihilation. Never one to stay put for long, Chen moved on, always seeking new ingredients for the perfect brew. Players will be able to catch up with him as he resumes his adventures on the pandaren mainland.

Q: What’s the story behind the pandaren monks?

Nearly 12,000 years ago, the empire now known as Pandaria was ruled by a monstrous race of warlords known as the Mogu (see below). Mogu taskmasters forbade their slaves to carry weapons. During these dark times, pandaren monks tried to lift the spirits of their beleaguered brothers and sisters. They were the storytellers, the brewmasters, and the healers who helped knit their oppressed society together in the midst of darkness.

As the Mogu empire began to fray, the pandaren saw an opportunity for a revolution. Because they had no weapons, they trained common people to fight with their unarmed fists and feet. They mastered the use of positive energy -- or chi -- to empower themselves. The revolution itself was a bloody affair that shattered an empire and left a terrible toll among combatant and civilian alike, but ultimately the Mogu were overthrown and a new empire was founded.

Although pandaren monks have since incorporated weapons into their attacks, they remain focused on chi as a source of power and are still devastating when fighting with open hands. In the wake of events on the Wandering Isle, pandaren monks will travel to key places throughout Azeroth to share their wisdom with young Alliance and Horde trainees.

Q: What sorts of local threats will adventurers face on Pandaria?

Just because Pandaria is isolated doesn’t mean the continent is at all peaceful. Looming dangers, new and old, threaten to overwhelm the empire as players arrive.

The Mogu are an ancient race of monstrous warlords who founded the first empire through conquest and oppression. They enslaved nearby indigenous races and used their labor to build structures of awe-inspiring majesty, some of which still stand. Masters of flesh-shaping magic, they assured their dominance through cruel experimentation. Only by mastering unarmed combat were the ancient pandaren able to overthrow this terrible regime. After the mists collapse, the remaining Mogu get together with old allies and attempt to retake the empire that their ancestors founded.

The Mantid are an intelligent and highly evolved race of insect-like creatures who have menaced the people of Pandaria since prehistoric times. While their society has a queen, they don’t operate as a hive mind. Mantid act with individual cunning, making them formidable in single combat and unstoppable when their numbers converge. Every mantid generation, the young hatch in incredible numbers and then swarm toward the rest of Pandaria, devouring anything in their path. Only the strongest return. Although the ancient mogu managed to protect their lands by building a gigantic wall between themselves and the mantid, the generational swarms require an all-hands defense of the wall or the very heart of Pandaria will be lost.

Finally, Sha is a dark energy unique to Pandaria, a legacy left behind by the last pandaren emperor. Fear, doubt, despair, anger, violence, and hatred are all emotions associated with the Sha -- emotions that can manifest themselves physically if left unchecked. Unwary mortals can become possessed by negative Sha energy, becoming embodiments of pure anger or fear. When the Alliance and Horde bring their war to the shores of Pandaria, these negative emotions threaten to engulf the continent.

Q: What other new races will emerge from Pandaria?

After millennia of isolation from the rest of Azeroth, several unique indigenous races have developed alongside the pandaren on the ancient continent.

Ferocious and impetuous, the hozen are a short-lived race. They have their own uniquely filthy language and a determination to always improve their station, no matter how inept their efforts. While the pandaren respect their tenacious hunger for life they’re also wary of the chaos created by such recklessness. The ever-expanding hozen are often the bane of the nearby jinyu, and it’s up to the pandaren to play the role of reluctant peacekeeper.

The industrious and amphibious jinyu dam the rivers in order to create lakes around which they make their home. The jinyu live under a rigid caste system, with warriors and priests chosen at a young age. Many of the jinyu elders are Waterspeakers. Placing a staff into the river, these sages listen to the knowledge of the island as it flows downstream. Any events that touch the rivers will make their way down to the jinyu, giving the Waterspeakers a connection to the future. While the pandaren balk at the overly rigid structure of jinyu life, they hold in great reverence this power to gain insight into what’s to come.

The cloud serpents are an intelligent race of dragon-like beings inhabiting the island. They exist in a wide array of shimmering colors. Some may be the bright green of the treetops through which they fly, while others may be the sparkling blue of the stream or the shocking crimson of flame -- their beauty always complementing their beloved land. Pandaren will often raise the playful creatures from hatchling to adulthood, as their cleverness and speed make them excellent mounts. While a handful have become corrupt or dangerous, the vast majority coexist happily with the other inhabitants of the island.

Other unique races include the dangerous lizard-like saurok, the superstitious diminutive grummles, the obnoxious scavenging virmen, or the ferocious nomadic yaungol tribes.

Q: What new factions await adventurers in Pandaria?

The Shado-Pan: The bravest and most disciplined of pandaren fighters, the Shado-Pan were established by the last Pandaren emperor to act as guardians against the negative Sha energy that permeates the continent. Part of their duties also involves manning the mighty wall that protects the pandaren homeland from the dangerous mantid race. They welcome the assistance of any who have the bravery and skill to aid them in their sacred charge.The August Celestials: Four powerful ancestor spirits have always watched over the lands of the pandaren: Yu’lon the Jade Serpent, Xuen the White Tiger, Chi Ji the Red Crane, and Niuzao the Black Ox. Each of their four temples will call on the service of bold adventurers. The Golden Lotus: Nestled in the center of Pandaria is the Vale of Eternal Blossoms, an ancient place of great power that’s been around since the time of the Titans. The Vale and its magical waters were once used as a weapon by the Mogu, and after their overthrow it was decided to seal off the vale from any intruders. The Golden Lotus is an order of pandaren priests and fighters who defend and maintain this sacred land. Members are specifically chosen at a young age by one of the four August Celestials. The Klaxxi: Keepers of the mantid culture, these stoic mantid lords have determined that their own queen has been corrupted and must be destroyed. Although wary of outsiders, it may be possible to earn the trust of the Klaxxi, gaining access to their unique arms and armor.Order of the Cloud Serpent: This order of flying warriors was founded long ago, during the Zandalari wars. Gain their favor, and they’ll reveal the secrets of training a cloud serpent to become a loyal mount. The Lorewalkers: This peaceful faction has been charged with safeguarding pandaren history and culture. Intrepid explorers can win their favor by collecting historical artifacts from around the world. Artisans: Many Brewmasters have wandered the world in search of exotic ingredients to expand their craft, while the Tillers and Anglers are simple farmer and fisher folk, respectively. These three factions are the backbone of civilian life on Pandaria, and offering assistance to these artisans will reap great rewards.

It has taken its time, but 4.3.2 is finally hitting servers this week!

A controversial patch, this one introduces gradually scaling zone buffs to Dragon Soul that recall back to the ones Icecrown Citadel had--a 5% buff will be added to the instance for raids who which to take advantage of it. There are also several encounter specific nerfs that aim to allow different raid compositions for the instance's final heroic modes and several class balance tweaks.

As Blizzard has said prior, this will be the last patch of Cataclysm before a pre-Mists of Pandaria world event, so this patch also marks the beginning of the end for this expansion!

During the scheduled server maintenance on the week of January 31, the Dragon Soul raid will become enveloped by the “Power of the Aspects” spell, reducing the health and damage dealt of all enemies in the raid by 5%. This spell will grow progressively stronger over time to reduce the difficulty and make the encounters more accessible. The spell will affect both normal and Heroic difficulties, but it will not affect the Looking for Raid difficulty.

The spell can also be disabled by talking to Lord Afrasastrasz at the beginning of Dragon Soul, if a raid wishes to attempt the encounters without the aid of the Dragon Aspects.

For those of you who raided in Firelands and/or Icecrown you’re no doubt aware that as time goes on we want to keep people progressing by adjusting the difficulty. For any number of reasons a group may be having difficulty on a specific encounter each week, and our intent in adjusting the content is to ensure the ability to keep progressing, enjoying the content, and gearing up. With Icecrown we progressively buffed the players, and while this slow progression (and ability to opt-out of the buff) were both beneficial, it led to an expectation of your characters power, and once you left the raid you could certainly feel less effective. For Firelands we attempted to fix that by nerfing the content instead of buffing players, but we nerfed the content difficulty all at one time, which was counterproductive for players who really didn’t need as severe a change as we made. With Dragon Soul we’re attempting to do the best of both by having a progressive nerf to the content, keeping player power constant while providing small increases in assistance over a long period of time, as well as allowing players to opt-out of the assistance by speaking to Lord Afrasastrasz.

We hope you continue to enjoy Dragon Soul, and that these changes encourage you to attempt a higher difficulty, or just keep pushing to down that next boss.

World of Warcraft Patch 4.3.2

Classes

General

Vengeance is no longer triggered by receiving damage from other players.

Several typo fixes and clarified descriptions have been added to the Dungeon Journal entries for Dragon Soul.

Players can no longer win multiple copies of the same item on a single Raid Finder boss kill. For example, a player who chooses Need on two set piece tokens or two weapons and wins the first, will not be eligible for the second on that particular boss.

Burning Tendonss health has been reduced by 15% in 10- and 25-player Heroic mode. This change eases the burst damage requirement to complete the encounter, which should allow players to make use of more varied raid compositions.

Items

Vial of Shadows damage (Lightning Strike) has been reduced to approximately one-third of previous damage. However, it will now trigger approximately 3 times as often. This is intended to keep overall DPS the same while reducing burst damage, especially in PvP.